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Despite an improved economy and much on-paper
prosperity, the need for food banks is higher in 2017 than it has been before.
Food bank use in Toronto is back to levels not seen since the aftermath of the
2008 financial crisis. The urgency of the need seen at local food banks shows
that focusing solely on long-term policy change or on small-scale initiatives,
such as community kitchens or gardens, will not meet the immediate food needs
of a city population that is struggling right now.

International Day for the Eradication of
Poverty - 17 October http://www.un.org/en/events/povertyday/
2017 theme  Answering the Call of October 17 to end poverty: A path toward
peaceful and inclusive societies
The Call to Action recognizes the knowledge and courage of families living in
poverty throughout the world, the importance of reaching out to the poorest
and building an alliance with citizens from all backgrounds to end poverty.
The theme for this years commemoration reminds us of the importance of
the values of dignity, solidarity and voice underscored in the Call to Action
to fight to end poverty everywhere.

Source:
Homeless Hubhttp://www.homelesshub.ca/
The Homeless Hub is a web-based research library and information centre representing
an innovative step forward in the use of technology to enhance knowledge mobilization
and networking.

Related link:

Canadian Observatory On Homelessnesshttp://homelesshub.ca/CanadianObservatoryOnHomelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is a non-profit, non-partisan research
institute that is committed to conducting and mobilizing research so as to contribute
to solutions to homelessness.

Click the link immediately
above to access any of the articles in the list below.

Top Stories

Stats on homelessness in Timmins, Cochrane, Hearst
and Moosonee shared at summit: Low social assistance shelter rates a fundamental
problem
City of London calls for a higher Ontario Works rate.
Ontario is complicit in precarious employment.
Recycling plant ordered to pay $1.33 million in fines, back wages:
Employment Law: Doughnut shop facing hole lot of trouble

87% of small business families see no benefit
to income sprinkling
CCPA news release
CCPA Report: Splitting the Difference: Who really benefits from small business
income splitting?
Closing tax loopholes is an important step toward tax fairness.
Wealthy Canadians already pay enough taxes, argues Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Stay the course and finally close these unfair
tax loopholes.
Tax changes to make system fair, not stifle business growth: Trudeau.
Ontario taps Hamilton groups to help with recruitment for basic income study
Intentional neglect or callous oversight? How progressive basic
income proposals fail migrants
Ontario names advisory group to help with jobs for people with disabilities

Government release: Ontario taking steps to increase
employment for people with disabilities
Backgrounder: Members of the Employers Partnership Table
Tackling racist, sexist hurdles to be part of anti-poverty plan, Duclos says
Federal release: Minister Duclos meets with stakeholders at National Poverty
Conference to talk about his governments commitment to a Canadian Poverty
Reduction Strategy
Northern Ontario First Nations take federal and Ontario governments to court
over $4 annual treaty payments
Toronto Community Housing asks city to commit $1.6 billion over next 10 years
for repairs

Ontario

A housing benefit would reduce the need for food
banksGovernment release: Ontario removing barriers to building
affordable housing
Homeless shelter demand rising in Ontario as facilities close
Legal Aid Ontario gets input from African-Canadian community on new black-led,
black-focused legal clinicNew legal clinic for Black Canadians will be in place
within a year
Ontario invests $18 million in 45 projects to help end human traffickingWindsor legal clinic part of provinces plan to
fight human trafficking
Government release: Ontario supporting specialized services for human trafficking
survivors

Reports, Events, Campaigns and Other Good Things

Getting Legal Help: Directory of Community Legal
Clinics in Ontario: New EditionCitizens for Public Justice: September 2017 Justice NewsHomeless Hub newsletterMaytree Policy School starts January 2018 Stats Can: Population estimates, second quarter 2017Stats Can: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, July
2017Stats Can: Chronic low income among immigrants in Canada
(incl. a link to the study
Poll: Premiers performance: Horgan enters on a high, wall is set to depart
on top

Around the Province

London tenant in wheelchair faces tough choice
after learning elevator repair will take five weeks
Mississauga tenants living in grimy apartment complex fight rent hikeLocal MPP
outraged at lack of funding for homelessness in Windsor
Windsor West MPP wants more funding to fight homelessness
Barrie, Orillia affordable housing projects get millions in provincial funding
Oakville symposium focuses on poverty elimination
Thunder Bays Shelter House looks for stable funding for street outreach
as SOS program resumes
Five big ideas for Northern Ontario

Across the Country

Struggling to get off welfare, Nova Scotia single
mom looks to provincial budget for helpMinimum wage to increase in Manitoba for first time since
2015Women and the fight for $15 in Manitoba
Hike to $15 minimum wage in Alberta could lead to 25,000 job losses: CD Howe
ReportOpinion: Raising minimum wage in Alberta wont reduce
poverty

First Nations hold a long-term vision of a renewed
nation-to-nation relationshipCollecting employment insurance may be harder than you
thinkOntario Superior Court warns federal government it desperately
needs more judgesFederal politics: Trudeau still seen as best PM, but
Conservatives best to form government

International

For young women in the UK, poverty and poor mental
health are a fact of lifeUK Labours £10 million pledge to tackle period
povertyBritains 21st century housing catastrophe bears
an eerie resemblance to my childhoodNew Irish welfare reforms aimed at lowering number of
jobless familiesTargets move to $15 an hour in the US blows
up the myth about raising the minimum wageMillions mired in poverty as US upturn passes them by,
study findsInequality, low wages weaken global growth: IMF official

Federal Cost
of a National Pharmacare Program
September 2017
(Vanier Institute of the Family)

NEW from CBC News
and the Parliamentary Budget Officer :

Universal pharmacare would save Canadians
$4.2B a year, parliamentary budget officer says
New estimate of the cost to the federal government for a universal drug program
points to overall savingshttp://www.cbc.ca/news/health/pharmacare-savings-1.4311618
September 28, 2017
Establishing a universal program for prescription medications would amount to
about $4.2 billion in savings annually in Canada, the parliamentary budget officer
says in a new report. The House standing committee on
health is studying the development of a national pharmacare program as an insured
service for Canadians under the Canada Health Act.

InfoVanier (September 2017)http://mailchi.mp/vanierinstitute/infovanier-september-septembre-2017?e=8f5d8fb007
A monthly e-newsletter from the Vanier Institute of the Family highlighting
whats new, what were reading and whats in the media.
The Vanier Institute of the Family is a national, independent, charitable organization
dedicated to understanding the diversity and complexity of families and the
reality of family life in Canada. Through publications, research initiatives,
presentations and social media, the Institute works to enhance the national
understanding of how families interact with, have an impact on and are affected
by social, economic, environmental and cultural forces.

The Vanier Institute of the Family offers an extensive
list of publications and resources for reading online. Whether you are looking
for a research study, quick statistics, short commentaries on current affairs
or Transition articles, youll find it here. The Vanier Institute publications
are listed below. All of our publications are available to download electronically.

Whats New at the
the Vanier Institute of the Family (in September 2017):

Every ninth child in Ontario : A Cost-Benefit
Analysis for Investing in
the Care of Special Needs Children and Youth in Ontario (PDF - 2.1MB, 59 pages)http://openpolicyontario.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/every-ninth-child-report-final.pdf
Supporting the voices of children and youth with special needs
By John Stapleton, Brendon Pooran, René Doucet et al.
November 2015
(...)
About one child in nine in Ontario has special needs (i.e., "a need that
is related to or caused by a developmental disability or a behavioural, emotional,
physical, mental or other disability"). The Ontario government is deeply
involved in the lives of special needs children and shares responsibility for
them with their parents and civil society. Ontarios government spends
approximately $5 billion on its 300,000 children with special needs. Various
estimates place the actual cost of supports for special-needs children at more
than $10 billion, perhaps as high as $12 billion.
(...)
Summing up: three recommendations:
1. Recommendation 1: the need for a government-wide strategy of inclusion,
2. Recommendation 2: the need to continue and expand support, and
3. Recommendation 3: the need for a tracking system.

Income splitting vs. childcarehttp://cupe.ca/child-care/income-splitting-vs-childcare
April 9, 2014
Study after study shows that public spending on child care should be a top priority.
The wide-spread and long-lasting economic, social, and health benefits for children,
families, and society far outweigh the costs. However, Canada is last among
its peer countries on public spending on child care. Despite all the evidence,
the federal Conservative government persists on ineffective high-cost proposals
such as income-splitting and the Universal Child Care Benefit.

In 2011, the Harper conservatives made an election pledge that they would allow
couples with children under 18 to split up to $50,000 of their income each year
for tax purposes. This would reduce what the household would pay in taxes to
the Canada Revenue Agency.

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) study, Income Splitting
in Canada: Inequality by Design (see the link below), showed Canadians that
the Conservative plan to extend income splitting to families with children under
18 would provide no benefit to 86 per cent of all families. Meanwhile the cost
to the federal government would be $3 billion and the cost to the provinces
would be $1.9 billion for a total loss of revenue in 2015 alone of nearly $5
billion.

Source:
Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)*http://cupe.ca/
---* I administer the mailing list and distribute
the weekly newsletter using software on the webmail server of the Canadian Union
of Public Employees (CUPE).http://www.cupe.ca/
Thanks, CUPE!.

Canada lags on fighting child poverty, report findshttp://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1202030
May 29, 2012
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Canada falls below most of its international peers when it comes to fighting
child poverty, says a new report by the United Nations Childrens Fund
being released Tuesday. With a child poverty rate of 13.3 per cent, Canada ranks
24th out of 35 industrialized nations, behind the United Kingdom, Australia,
New Zealand and most of northern Europe, says the UNICEF report. Overall, the
Netherlands and Nordic countries have the lowest rates of child poverty, hovering
at about 7 per cent, almost half Canadas rate. Meantime, the United States
and some of the southern European countries have the highest. Iceland has the
lowest child poverty rate at 4.7 per cent and Romania has the highest at 25.5
per cent. The U.S. rate is 23 per cent. When it comes to the size of the gap
between child poverty [ http://goo.gl/2ofMB
] and a nations overall poverty rate, Canada fares somewhat better at
18 out of 35, the report notes.
(...)
In a companion report, UNICEF Canada notes that the countrys tax and transfer
policies are moderately effective compared to other affluent countries. Canadas
relative child poverty rate before taxes and benefits is 24.1 per cent, close
to the U.S. rate of 25.1 per cent. But after taxes and transfers, the rate in
Canada drops by almost a half while the U.S. rate remains unchanged, the report
says.

Measuring Child Poverty : child poverty
in the world's rich countries (PDF - 1.7MB, 40 pages)http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc10_eng.pdf
Innocenti Report Card 10
May 2012Report Card 10 considers two views of child poverty in
the worlds advanced economies: a measure of absolute deprivation, and
a measure of relative poverty. The first measure is a 14-item Child Deprivation
Index that represents a significant new development in international monitoring,
drawing on data from the European Unions Statistics on Incomes and Living
Conditions survey of 125,000 households in 31 European countries, which has
included a section on children for the first time. Children were considered
'deprived' if they lacked two or more of the items, which ranged from three
meals a day, to an Internet connection. The second measure covers the EU and
an additional six OECD countries (Australia, Canada,
Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States) and examines the percentage
of children living below their national 'poverty line' - defined as 50 per cent
of median disposable household income.

Two background papers from the UNICEF Innocenti
Research Centre support this Report:

Source:
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre (Florence)http://www.unicef-irc.org/
The Innocenti Research Centre (IRC) was established in Florence, Italy in 1988
to strengthen the research capability of the United Nations Childrens
Fund (UNICEF) and to support its advocacy for children worldwide.

Canada can do more to protect its children
from poverty, new UNICEF reporthttp://goo.gl/J1EFd
TORONTO, May 29, 2012
A new report released by UNICEF today comparing child poverty in 35 industrialized
countries reveals Canada could be doing more to protect its children. (...)
Report Card 10: Measuring Child Poverty
from UNICEFs Research Office reveals Canadas child poverty rate
is higher than Canadas overall national poverty rate. When comparing this
gap between child poverty and overall poverty, Canada ranks 18th of the 35 countries
measured. Ten of the 35 countries have lower child poverty rates than overall
poverty rates, including the Nordic countries, Japan and Australia. Romania
is at the bottom of the list with a child poverty rate of 26 per cent - a third
higher than its national rate.

Poverty : the one line we want our kids
to crossUNICEF Report Card 10 : Measuring Child Poverty
- Canadian Companion (PDF - 2.8MB, 7 pages)http://goo.gl/ezZtF
UNICEFs comparison of child poverty across industrialized countries shows
that government action is a key driver to reduce child poverty.
In countries that accept higher levels of child poverty, this is not just a
function of chance or necessity, but of policy and priority.

Youth in Care Canadahttp://www.youthincare.ca/
The National Youth In Care Network is a national charitable organization driven
by youth and alumni of care across Canada. The NYICN exists to voice the opinions
and concerns of youth in and from care and promote the improvement of services
for this group.
- includes the following:
* news (what's new, archive)
* our voices (sharing for change - multimedia stories - talk back archive)
* our work (ken dryden scholarship - support - leadership & training - research
& advocacy - system capacity
* our resources (resources - purchase resources)
* our people (youth in & alumni from care - membership - board of directors
& staff - youth in care networks
* join us
* about us
* contact us

February 6, 2012  Today - six years since
the announcement of the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB)the CCAAC and
Campaign 2000 call on the Harper government to redirect the $2.5 billion annual
UCCB to fund ECEC programs and the National Child Benefit for low and modest
income families. An open letter sent today to the Prime
Minister, Finance Minister and President of Treasury Board says that Canadians
simply cannot afford to let a substantial public expenditure like the UCCB continue
with no documented efficacy. (...).

Child-friendly public policies good for
economy, says studyhttp://goo.gl/tt37c
By Derek Abma
January 10, 2012
If governments want to put the economy at the top of their agendas, actions
that focus on improving the well-being of children and youth should be prioritized,
according to a report released Tuesday. The Canadian
Paediatric Society said in this report that child care, mental health and poverty
are some of the key areas related to kids for which there are clear economic
benefits to be had by taking action.Source:
Montreal Gazettehttp://www.montrealgazette.com/

From the
Canadian Paediatric Society:

Are governments doing enough to protect
kids?
No. Canada can do better, say paediatricanshttp://www.cps.ca/english/Media/NewsReleases/2012/DoBetter.htm
News Release
January 10, 2012
OTTAWACanadas provincial and territorial governments could be doing
more to protect and promote the health and well-being of Canadas children
and youth, according to a report released today by the Canadian Paediatric Society
(CPS). The fourth edition of Are We Doing Enough? A status report on Canadian
public policy and child and youth health examines how effectively governments
use legislation and programming in areas such as injury prevention, disease
prevention and health promotion. It also assesses the federal government in
key areas.

The CPS report:

Are We Doing Enough? A status report on
Canadian public policy and child and youth health
(PDF - 432K, 40 pages)
2012 (Fourth Edition)http://www.cps.ca/english/Advocacy/StatusReport2012.pdf
January 2012Are We Doing Enough? assesses public policy in four major areas:
 Disease prevention  Health promotion  Injury prevention 
Best interests of children and youth
Childrens opportunities for health, emotional well-being and life success
are determined in large part by their early development. A deprived environment
can leave a child with life-long deficits, while high-quality early learning
and care help to stimulate cognitive and social development. [report, p. 3]
(...)
The CPS calls upon ...the federal government to show leadership with a national
strategy [to alleviate poverty]. A number of evidence-based solutions are available,
including income support measures, education and job training, and quality child
care programs. The CPS believes that ending child and youth poverty should receive
the same focus as stimulating economic growth. Public accountability is imperative
for tracking progress on this critical health issue. [report, p. 26]
NOTE : See pages 26-27 for the CPS perspective on provincial and territorial
governments' poverty alleviation plans and a quick chart showing how well each
jurisdiction is doing compared with the CPS recommended actions in the area
of child poverty reduction.

Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS)http://www.cps.ca/english/index.htm
The Canadian Paediatric Society is the national association of paediatricians,
committed to working together to advance the health of children and youth by
nurturing excellence in health care, advocacy, education, research and support
of its membership.

Dr.
Fraser Mustard, world renowned for work in early childhood development
November 17, 2011
By Kristin Rushowy
He got the world talking about the importance of early childhood.
Dr. Fraser Mustards impassioned campaign calling attention to the crucial
first years of life  and how brain development during that time sets the
stage for health and wellbeing  inspired economists, educators and politicians
around the globe. Closer to home, the Ontario governments recent move
to full-day kindergarten can also be traced to his influence. Mustard died at
home Wednesday night after battling cancer. He was 84.
Source:Toronto Star

Changing
Families, New Understandings (PDF - 462K, 46 pages)
By Meg Luxton
York UniversityChanging Families, New Understandings, by Dr. Meg Luxton,
explores key debates about the roles and responsibilities families in Canada
today. Dr. Luxton makes the case that unpacking our understanding of family
is key to crafting policies and programs that support families, in all of their
diversity, in the essential work that they do.

[ Meg Luxton is a Professor in the School of Womens
Studies at York University. ]

Source:Vanier Institute of the Family
The Vision of the Vanier Institute of the Family is
to make families as important to the life of Canadian society
as they are to the lives of individual Canadians. VIF's mission is "to
create awareness of, and to provide leadership on, the importance and strengths
of families in Canada and the challenges they face in their structural, demographic,
economic, cultural and social diversity."

MissingKids.ca
We offer families support in finding their missing child and provide educational
materials to help prevent children from going missing
[Phone: 1-866-KID-TIPS (543-8477)]

MissingKids.ca has four primary functions:
* To assist in the location of missing children
* To provide educational materials to help prevent children from going missing
* To be an information and resource centre on missing children
* To coordinate efforts and assist stakeholders in the delivery of missing children
services
Source:Canadian Centre for Child Protection

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a
charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children. Our
goal is to reduce child victimization by providing programs and services to
Canadians. We do this through public awareness activities, our personal safety
education program (Kids in the Know), our national tipline to report online
sexual abuse of children (Cybertip.ca), and our program to help organizations
prevent child sexual abuse (Commit to Kids). * Kids
in the Know
* Cybertip.ca
* Commit
to Kids

Families Count
- Profiling Canada's Families IV
Press Release
October 4, 2010New Report Puts Spotlight on What Matters Most To Canadians  FamiliesOttawa: The Vanier Institute of the Family has released Families Count:
Profiling Canadas Families IV. Timed to provide a backdrop for National
Family Week, (October 4-9), Families Count details the many trends
that are reshaping family life in Canada. (...) Families Count updates
data on a wide range of metrics from demographics, educational attainment, work-life
balance, economic well-being, housing, and the provision of care within and
between generations.

Highlights
(PDF - 203K, 4 pages)
* Two basic resources all families require are time and money, and for a growing
number of families, these basics are in short supply.
*Family and child poverty remain persistent social problems, while enormous
inequalities of wealth and income continue to separate rich and poor. Particularly
vulnerable are Canadas Aboriginal families, new immigrants and families
that rely on a single earner. Food banks have become familiar
community institutions.
*...

Presentation : 70+ topics (see below), each containing a
page of text, a chart and a table.

* Canadas People, Canadas Families
* Recent Increase in Number of Births
* Canadas Aging Population
* Canadian Families and Disability
* Growing Aboriginal Population
* Immigrant Population on the Rise
* Greater Racial and Ethnic Diversity
* Many Languages Spoken
* Faith and Family
* High Levels of Educational Attainment
* Changing Urban / Rural Divide
* Families on the Move
* Changing Family Structure
* Projected Number of Families
* Trends in Family Size
* Marriage, Common-law and Single
* Conjugal Status over the Life Course
* Declining Rates of Marriage
* Average Age at First Marriage Rising
* Same-sex Marriages Legally Recognized
* Common-law Unions More Common
* Four in Ten Marriages end in Divorce
* Most Repartner after Divorce or Separation
* Reasons why People Marry
* Reasons why People Separate
* Fertility  If, When and How Many
* Births to Common-law Families and Single Mothers Rise
* Families and Adoption

* Children in Care
* Majority of Young People aspire to have Children
* Childrens Changing Family Context
* Children and Family Transitions
* Child Custody and Support
* Stepfamilies and Blended Families
* Mid-life Families
* Home Leaving ... and Home Returning
* Older Families and Where they Live
* Converging Labour Force Participation Rates
* High Rates of Employment among Mothers
* Working Part-time and Shift
* Dual-Earner Families
* Absences from Work
* Limited Availability of Family-Friendly Work Arrangements
* Turning Away from Early Retirement?
* Family Pathways to Retirement
* Family Incomes: Sources and Trends
* Income Profile of Couple Families
* One- and Two-earner Families
* More Women are Primary Earners
* Incomes of Lone-parent Families
* Canadas Forgotten Poor

* Deteriorating Economic Position of Recent Immigrant Families
* The Income Return on Education
* Family Income Inequality has Increased
* Middle Class Families under Pressure
* Poverty in Canada
* Family Poverty
* The Working Poor
* Food Insecurity in Canada
* Families and Wealth
* Record Levels of Home Ownership
* Wealth Inequality
* The Cost of Raising Children
* The Affordability Gap
* Household Savings at Record Low
* Household Debt at Record High
* Longer Work Days for Men and Women
* Canadian Teens working Hard
* Caring over the Life Course
* Families and Eldercare
* Families and Children with Disabilities
* Less Time with Family and Friends

Source:Vanier Institute of the Family
Founded by former Governor General George Vanier and Mme Pauline Vanier in 1965,
the Vanier Institute of the Family continues to research and publish data and
analysis on family life in Canada. Families Count is the fourth in a series
of publications since 1994 that draws on the most recent data to provide a new
picture of Canadian families and the challenges they face.

Benefits
for Children in Ontario Incomplete and Unfair
News Release
May 17, 2010
A new report says children not living with their parents are denied financial
benefits that other children get. Not so Easy to Navigate, a report written
by social policy experts John Stapleton and Anne Tweddle for the Laidlaw Foundation,
reveals that the most vulnerable children in Ontario - those living in state
care - dont benefit from federal programs like the Canada Learning Bond
and Canada Education Savings Grant the same way that children living with their
families do.

* 7
Things you Should Know (PDF - 291K, 14 pages)
May 2010
Do you know a child who is in the care of a Childrens Aid Society?
Are you concerned about their financial and educational future?
This fact sheet tells you about financial benefits from the government for children
in Ontario, with special emphasis on programs that build savings for a child
in care. It also explains some of the changes that happen to benefits when a
child goes into care.

There are four things you should do when you give birth
in order to obtain the benefits that you are entitled to:

1. Go to Service Ontario to get a birth certificate and a Social
Insurance Number for your child.
2. Apply for Canada Child Tax Benefits (CCTB).
3. Fill out a tax return and send it in.
4. Go to any bank and setup a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
- includes links to online resources

Source:The Laidlaw Foundation
The Laidlaw Foundation promotes positive youth development through inclusive
youth engagement in the arts, environment and in community.

* Canada
Learning BondThe Canada Learning Bond (CLB) is a grant offered by the Government of Canada
to help parents, friends, and family members save early for the post-secondary
education of children in modest-income families. (...) The
Government of Canada will make a one-time payment of $500 into the RESP of children
who qualify for the Canada Learning Bond and a $100 deposit each subsequent
year the childs primary caregiver receives the National
Child Benefit Supplement, to a maximum of $2,000. Canlearn.ca offers
more information regarding the amount of CLB the child could receive.

* Canada
Education Savings Grant
When you, as a parent, friend or family member, open a Registered
Education Savings Plan (RESP) on behalf of a child and apply for the
Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG), the Government of Canada will deposit
a percentage of your own contribution directly into the RESP. To date, more
than three million children have benefited from the Canada Education Savings
Grant.

Ont.
youth in state care need RESPs: foundation
May 17, 2010
An Ontario youth foundation is calling on Ottawa to set up education savings
accounts for the 18,000 Ontario children in state care. The Laidlaw Foundation
has released a new report that suggests Ontario children living in foster care
don't benefit from federal programs like the Canada Learning Bond and the Canada
Education Savings Grant the same way that children living with their families
do.

Youth
in state care need RESPs
By Laurie Monsebraaten
May 17, 2010
Ontario should press Ottawa to give children in foster care the same educational
support as children who live with their families. A report being released Monday
says it would cost the federal government about $8 million a year to set up
educational savings accounts for the approximately 18,000 Ontario children in
state care. Parents with children living at home often use their federal
child benefits to open Registered Education Savings Plans for their children,
said social policy expert John Stapleton, co-author of report by the Laidlaw
Foundation. The investments trigger the $2,000 federal learning bond and the
education savings grant, which matches parental contributions to a maximum of
$7,200. (...) Ontario should press for a change in federal policy so that all
children in care can have access to the federal money to use toward a post-secondary
education, says the report. The province should also extend financial support
to youth in care to age 25 says the report entitled Not So Easy to Navigate.
Source:The Toronto Star

A
better idea for foster kids
May 23, 2010
Editorial
(...) By [Ontario] provincial law, children in the care of the state must move
out of their foster or group homes before their 18th birthday, whether they
have finished high school or not. They are given financial assistance to live
on their own, but that is cut off at 21, regardless of their circumstances.
(...) Last week, a report by the Laidlaw Foundation urged Ottawa to establish
registered education savings plans (RESPs) for children in foster care, similar
to those that parents set up for their own children. The report rightly identifies
the transforming effect that making college financially possible could have
on Crown wards. (...) Children's aid agencies have long urged the province to
let children stay in their foster or group homes until they are 21. The Laidlaw
Foundation's report argues that financial assistance should be extended to 25.
Both measures would provide a more supportive and gradual transition into adulthood
 similar to what most children get from their parents.

The 70-page report, My
So-Called Emancipation: From Foster Care to Homelessness for California Youth
(PDF - 1.3MB), documents the struggles of foster care youth who become homeless
after turning 18, or "aging out" of the state's care, without sufficient
preparation or support for adulthood. California's foster care system serves
65,000 children and youth, far more than any other single state. Of the 4,000
who age out of the system each year, research suggests, 20 per cent or more
become homeless.

Source:Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is one of the worlds leading independent organizations
dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international
attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and
hold oppressors accountable for their crimes.

Child
Poverty in British ColumbiaMarch/April 2009"Our province
has the highest child poverty rate in Canada. It's a damning statistic that
advocates are calling B.C.'s Shame."

Clicking
the link above opens the main page of this four-part series from CTV-BC, where
you'll find links to articles and videos on the following topics:* BC - The
highest child poverty rate in Canada* One woman's struggle to provide*
Food banks jammed with kids* Poverty's dangerous consequencesSource:CTV
British Columbia

NOTE Regarding Child and Family Services:

The scope of federal, provincial and territorial government
programs and services for children, families and youth is quite broad.
It covers health, social services, child protection, Canadian and international
adoptions, foster care, child and family services, counselling, mediation,
visiting homemaker services, children's rights, child maintenance, child
care, child custody, and much, much more. The "Children, Families
and Youth" pages of this site (national govt. - Canadian NGO -
international) are my way of organizing links to a very small portion
of that information. Canadian Social Research Links has no "Provincial/territorial
Government Child and Family Services" page because there are others
who do a much better job than I ever could. Follow the link below to
THE definitive Canadian collection in the area of child and family services,
also known as child protection or child welfare.

This website has been designed to be a clearinghouse
of information for child welfare professionals, researchers, and the
general public. It is searchable by keywords and organized according
to major topic areas.
Topics include: * Child Abuse & Neglect * Intervention & Prevention
* Families & Communities * Children & Youth in Care * Aboriginal
Child Welfare * Policy & Legislation * Provinces & Territories.

NOTE:
I received this by email but I can't find the same message on the Centre's
website, so I'm copying the entire message below.

---

Public Health Agency Funding Ending  Research Portal Focus of
Future CECW Work

The Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare (CECW) is pleased to announce
that its major communications network, the Canadian Child Welfare Research
Portal, will be a primary focus of our future activities (www.cwrp.ca).
This portal will showcase the work of Canadian child welfare researchers,
provide a wealth of information about child welfare across Canada, and
will identify policy and research needs for child welfare in Canada
and beyond.

The emphasis on the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal comes at
a time of transition for the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare.
The CECW will complete its mandate in March 2010 as part of the Centres
of Excellence for Children's Well-Being, which has been generously funded
by the Public
Health Agency of Canadaand
Health Canada
since 2000. The ending of PHAC's funding cycle for the Centres of Excellence
for Children's Well-Being Program will leave a serious gap in Canada's
voice to create a national child welfare research agenda and to collaborate
closely on policy and practice development. For this reason, the CECW's
directors and sponsoring organizations are committed to continuing their
collaboration and expanding their networking with partnerships that
have developed over that past 10 years. In doing so, we will place particular
stress on using our own energies and seeking support from the federal
government and elsewhere to further a national research agenda in child
welfare for Canada.

We look forward, as individuals and organizations, to continuing our
efforts to promote excellence in child welfare research, policy and
practice.

* NOTE: The two links above take you to the
same website.
The "Centre" link is to the current location of the site,
and
the "Portal"link is to the location of the site once it is
liberated
from the shackles of federal government funding in April.

Personal Endorsement:Whether you call it the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare or
the Canadian Child Welfare Research Portal, this is *the* website to
visit for information about child welfare / child protection / child
and family services (different names for similar services). Here ,you'll
find large collections of resources on these types of programs for each
province and territory. The site also includes extensive resources in
the areas of : * Child Abuse & Neglect * Intervention & Prevention
* Families & Communities * Children & Youth in Care * Aboriginal
Child Welfare * Policy & Legislation * Provinces & Territories.

I highly recommend this site, and I think it sucks
that neither Public Health Agency of Canada nor Health Canada can find
the funds to continue this valuable information service.
My best wishes to all who are involved with the Canadian Child Welfare
Research Portal --- and I'll definitely keep referring visitors to their
impressive collection of online resources. Gilles

___________________________________________________________

Here's the original collection of links to the site:
(they'll all be functional until the site moves to its new location
this spring)

This website has been designed to be a clearinghouse
of information for child welfare professionals, researchers, and the
general public. It is searchable by keywords and organized according
to major topic areas.
Topics include: * Child Abuse & Neglect * Intervention & Prevention
* Families & Communities * Children & Youth in Care * Aboriginal
Child Welfare * Policy & Legislation * Provinces & Territories.

Call
for a National Autism Strategy "To date no province has offered
autism treatment under the Medicare umbrella. Those provinces that offer autism
treatment programs under the Social Services departments are often plagued with
unconscionable waiting lists or discriminatory age-based cut-offs. It is time
for the federal government to demonstrate leadership and develop a National Autism
Strategy that would see federal budget surplus dollars transferred to the provinces
specifically for autism treatment along with corresponding standards so that no
child with autism will be left behind."

Senator
Munson Launches an Inquiry into the Treatment of AutismSenate
Wakes Up!May 11, 2006OTTAWA, May 11, 2006  The Honourable
Jim Munson, Senator (Ottawa  Rideau Canal) rose in the Senate today to launch
an inquiry on the plight faced by parents of children with autism. It is
heartbreaking to see what families with autistic children have to deal with,
said Senator Munson.

AUTISM:
the Latest Prevalence Rates in USA - Now 1 in 175By Barbara AnelloActing
Chair, DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's NetworkMay 5, 2006"Below is
the latest bombshell in the USA about the prevalence rates for autism. Clearly,
this is getting media attention in the USA. We, in Canada, need to capitalize
on this and send this information to all MPs and Senators, especially Tony Clement,
the Minister of Health, and ask them for the corresponding study results in Canada
and what are they doing about it? Clearly, this would support the case that the
government needs to mandate the Public Health Agency with monitoring what the
heck is going on and using this data to feed into policy development.

As
a mother of a child living with autism, I am asking all parents, family and friends
of children with autism to send this to their MPs, and the Health Minister, with
the request that the government recognize the problem and monitor the situation
in Canada. "

- includes links to contact info
for the federal Minister of Health, MPs and Senators, plus a selection of articles
from American media.

Autism
resources- includes Autism FAQ - Autism Information Center Resources
for Families - Developmental Screening - Resources for Researchers - Kids' Quest
- PublicationsNOTE: this is the organization that did the two surveys that
served as sources for the new autism estimates. When I checked the Autism resources
page of the CDC site on May 7, there was no mention (yet) of the new release...Source:Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)

US
survey shows autism very commonMay 06, 2006WASHINGTON, MAY
5: The first national surveys of autism show the condition is very common among
US children with up to one in every 175 with the disorder, the US Centres
for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. This adds up to at least
300,000 US schoolchildren with autism, a condition that causes trouble with learning,
socialising and behaviour, the CDC said. The CDC analysed data on 24,673 children
whose parents took part in two separate government surveys on health in the United
States to generate its first national estimate of the prevalence of autism. Source:Financial
Express (India)

NDP
MP tables private bill on autism careApril 25, 2006Alberta
is the only province in Canada that pays for autism treatment and therapy, but
NDP MP Peter Stoffer has tabled a private members bill that would ensure every
province does the same. "No matter where you live in this country, you should
have equal access to the healthcare system when it comes to autism," he told
CTV News.[NOTE: check the right-hand side of the CTV page for links to six
more related stories and three videos.]Source:CTV
News

Ability
Online"A computer network designed to enhance the lives of children
and youth with disabilities or illness by providing an online community of friendship
and support."Graphic
version of this siteText
version of this siteEn
ligne directe (French version of this site)"Ability OnLine is
a free internet community where children/youth with disabilities/illness and their
parents can meet others like them, make friends from all over the world, share
their hopes and fears, find role-models and mentors, and feel like they belong.
Ability OnLine began in 1991 and has grown from a small Bulletin Board Service
(BBS) to a web based network with members from around the world." - Ability
Online recently recorded the three millionth visit to its website (in 10 yrs.)...About
Us - read why Ability Online was created and how it's evolved since then.

Adoption
Council of Canada"The Adoption Council of Canada (ACC) is the
umbrella organization for adoption in Canada. Based in Ottawa, the ACC raises
public awareness of adoption, promotes placement of waiting children and stresses
the importance of post-adoption services. Our services include a quarterly newsletter,
a resource library, referrals, and conference planning."- incl. links
to : About the ACC | Organizations | News | Viewpoints | Legislation | Events
| Publications | Research | Glossary | Newsletters | Canada's Waiting Children
| Links | Statistics | Principles

Canada's
Waiting Kids (CWK) "Canada's Waiting Kids is an online resource
for the Canada's Waiting Children Program of the Adoption Council of Canada (ACC).
The Web site lists photos and background information about Canadian children waiting
for permanent adoptive families. It also provides information about domestic adoption
in Canada of children in the care of Canadian child welfare agencies. Canada's
Waiting Kids is a service of the ACC. The ACC is not an adoption agency but an
information and referral service. This program is made possible by grants from
the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the ongoing support of Wendy's Restaurants
of Canada."- incl. links to : Adoption Process | Older/Special Needs
Kids | Resources | Info and Support Groups | Photo Album | Social Workers' Corner
| Terms and Conditions | Overview | Adoption Myths | Find Out More | FAQs

Albertans
can view children at websiteApril 2003"Alberta has changed
its photolisting web site to protect the privacy of children listed for adoption.
ACC has offered help in developing ethical guidelines for photolistings."
More...Source : Adoption Council of Canada
(ACC)NOTE: This ACC review of the Alberta government adoption photolisting
web site is very comprehensive - and it includes links to many other related resources

World
Conference on Prevention of Family Violence 2005October 23-26, 2005Banff,
Alberta"The World Conference on Prevention of Family Violence 2005 will
bring together a diverse group of international leaders, researchers and policy
and program experts to share promising practice in family violence prevention,
intervention, support and follow-up. The goals of the conference are to heighten
global awareness of family violence, strengthen leadership networks and collaborative
partnerships, and point the way for a generation free of family violence."Source:National
Children's AllianceAlliance
nationale pour les enfants

...

Beverley
Smith's PageIn May 1997 a Canadian homemaker, Beverley Smith, laid
an official complaint at the United Nations that Canada discriminates against
homemakers in its tax, divorce and childcare laws and in Statistics Canada studies.
"Beverley Smith is a long-time researcher and activist promoting equality
for all roles for men and women, paid and unpaid, and for the state to value the
family side of the career family balance. (...) working to get a fairer tax climate
to all kids, and all ways to raise them, addressing child poverty in a way that
shows no favoritism for lifestyle or career choice"

Kids
First Parent Association of Canada"We are a communications
network of people working to better the lives of children. Through our efforts
we endeavour to raise the social status of time devoted to caregiving and the
anchor it provides, though unpaid, to a healthy society."- incl.
links to : About Us | History/Background | Caregiving Research | Health of Children
and Parents | Finances of Families and Nations | Career Trends and Feminism |
Unpaid but Meaningful Labor | Contact Us | Laws and Politics

Recent
Developments in Caregiving- free weekly newsletter by Beverley
Smith of Calgary, available via e-mail by subscription [ bevgsmith@hotmail.com
]Each issue includes recent news and information on a wide range of topics,
such as the positive effects of good care, the negative effects of bad care, caregiving
research, the characteristics of caregivers, child and parent health, career trends,
family finances, legal and political, and much more...

NOTE:
For a counterpoint to Ms Smith's viewpoint, see Fact
and fantasy: Eight myths about early childhood education and care
(July 2003) by the Childcare Resource
and Research Unit (CRRU)I don't normally include links to opposing
viewpoints unless I have some ideological differences with an author or an organization.
In this specific case, I don't have Ms Smith's extensive experience in caregiving
situations, and I respect all of the hard work that she and her supporters do
to promote a cause in which they believe so fervently. However, I feel that the
kind of support that she advocates for families with children is the same as the
support that's demanded by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and the National
Citizens' Coalition - tax cuts - and I don't support tax cuts on that scale. The
federal government's ability to influence national well-being is undermined with
each tax cut and with each tax transfer to the provincial governments, and the
provision of support on the level that Ms Smith advocates would, in my view, eliminate
any possibility of ever seeing a national system of affordable, accountable, quality
day care in Canada.

A
Bigger and Better Child Benefit:
A $5,000 Canada Child Tax Benefit (PDF
file - 324K, 63 pages)
Ken Battle, January 2008
The federal child benefits system has undergone far-reaching changes over
the past two years, with the addition of the Universal Child Care Benefit
and non-refundable child tax credit to the existing Canada Child Tax Benefit.
While these two so-called "new" programs (they are actually
worn retreads from the past) have infused substantial new monies into
the child benefits system, they also have made it complex, inequitable
and virtually incomprehensible to Canadian families.

Child
Benefits Levels in 2003 and Beyond: Australia, Canada, the UK and the US
Michael Mendelson
April 2003
Abstract
"Australia, Canada, the UK and the US all have programs providing cash
benefits to families with children. This study is a detailed comparison
of current child benefit rates in the four countries, for a representative
lone parent family with one child and a two-parent family with two children.
It also compares Canadas child benefits in 2007, when all announced
increases are implemented, to those in Australia, the UK and the US. The
paper calculates the changes that would be needed to replicate UK child
benefits in Canada, and analyzes the implications of these changes."Full
Document (PDF file - 75K, 13 pages)
Source : Caledon Institute of Social
Policy

Architecture
for National Child Care (PDF file - 58K, 21 pages)
November 2002
by Ken Battle and Sherri Torjman
"The case for investing in high quality child care is compelling
and unequivocal."

Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian
awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution
to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 began in
1991 out of concern about the lack of government progress in addressing
child poverty. Campaign 2000 is non-partisan in urging all Canadian elected
officials to keep their promise to Canada's children. There are over 85
national, community and provincial partners actively involved in the work
of Campaign 2000. Hundreds of other groups across the country work on
the issue of child poverty every day, such as children's aid societies,
faith organizations, community agencies, health organizations, school
boards, and low-income people's groups.
Follow these links from Campaign 2000's Home Page : What's New - Take
Action - Report Cards - Resources - About Campaign 2000

Campaign
2000 Partners - Complete list of all Campaign 2000 national, provincial
and community partners - including links to 60+ websites of these
NGOs and other groups from across Canada.

Reducing
Child Poverty to Increase Productivity: A Human Capital Strategy
Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance(PDF
file - 89K, 8 pages)Pre-Budget Consultation
September, 2005
By Laurel Rothman
National Coordinator, Campaign 2000
"The fact that 15% of our youngest citizens are growing up in poverty does
not bode well for Canadas future productivity performance, which is the
focus of the 2005 Pre-Budget Consultations. Broad based investment in our human
capital is essential for a productivity agenda. "Canadas Fiscal Outlook
projects surpluses of almost $30 billion over the next five years. With consecutive
multi-billion dollar budget surpluses, Canada has the resources to make substantial
progress. We call on the federal government to commit a portion of these surpluses
to invest in children, as they have committed portions for healthcare and equalization
payments."

Submission
to the Federal Labour Standards Review - ExcerptsSeptember
26, 2005Campaign 2000 "Campaign 2000 maintains that federal labour
standards should be modernized to reflect leading standards and 'best practices'in
other advanced economies. They need to be updated to reflect changes in the labour
market and workforce over the past 40 years, with a particular emphasis on ensuring
protection for vulnerable workers."

Editorial:
Renew pledge on child povertyMay 10, 2004"(...)Nearly
half a century ago this nation decided that none of its citizens should have to
forgo needed health care just because his or her family didn't have enough money
to pay for it. So how can it be that we still expose more than 1 million children
to the risks of poor health and lost opportunities for personal growth and fulfillment
just because they were born into families that happened to be poor? Because they
couldn't answer that question in 1989, MPs promised to make every effort to rid
the country of child poverty by 2000. And because they still cannot answer that
question, they need to renew their pledge, and this time to follow through on
it."Source:The Toronto Star
NOTE: this article is about the Campaign 2000 report Pathways to Progress

"Child poverty remains firmly entrenched
in Canada. Pathways to Progress: Structural Solutions to Address Child Poverty
challenges governments to work together on a social investment strategy that will
forge pathways out of poverty for one million children today, and will secure
pathways to the future for generations to come."

---------------------------------------------

Diversity
or Disparity? Early Childhood Education and Care in Canada (ECEC)Second
Report, Community Indicators ProjectOctober 2003

For
the first time, the number of child care spaces declines in CanadaNews
AlertOctober 28, 2003 Release of Diversity or Disparity? Early Childhood
Education and Care in Canada (ECEC), Second Report, Community Indicators
Project"...cuts to child care budgets in the three richest provinces
- British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario - resulted in an overall loss of spaces"

Back
Up Child Poverty Promises with Real Money, PM UrgedNews AlertOctober
1, 2002"The real test of the government's commitment to fight child
poverty will be in the investment priorities of the next budget, said child poverty
advocates following the Speech from the Throne."[For other links
to analysis of the federal government's Speech from the Throne (Sept. 30/02),
go to the Canadian Social Research Links General Federal Government
Links page]

Family Security in Insecure
Times: Tackling Canada's Social Deficit Almost one in five children
still lives in poverty in Canada -an increase of 39%since 1989 November 2001
Bulletin Press
ReleaseComplete
Report (PDF file - 4 pages, 666KB] Related
Press Releases

Child Poverty - A National
Disgrace November Initiative 2001 On November 26th Campaign
2000 opened a photo exhibit at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and in nine
other locations. Photo
Exhibit Online

Campaign
Against Child PovertyCampagne
contre la pauvreté des enfants"The Campaign
Against Child Poverty is a national, non-partisan coalition of citizens from faith-groups,
social justice groups, charities, child welfare organizations and others concerned
about the unacceptably high levels of child and family poverty in Canada. We are
also concerned about the hazards to the future educational, social, physical,
developmental and employment success of those children presently living in poor
families. (...) We are affiliated with no political party, and our only special
interest is to reduce the numbers of poor children in Canada. We are funded by
private citizens across Canada, by foundations, faith communities and NGO's, all
of whom share our vision of a poverty-free country."- incl. links
to : Who we are - What we do - Why we do it - Public education messages - Links
to sponsors

Maybe
its time we had a commission investigating child poverty...
April 23, 2005The Campaign Against Child Poverty ran this full-page ad in
the Toronto Star on April 23. It talks about the 15% of our children - more than
1,000,000 kids  who live below the poverty line, about how, more than 15
years ago, Canadian Parliament voted unanimously to end child poverty, and how
Europe and Scandinavia have proven conclusively that child poverty rates can be
dramatically reduced with no risk to national economies. It talks about the need
for a national early childhood education and care plan, affordable housing, a
livable minimum wage, and support for the National Child Tax Benefit.Source:Campaign
Against Child Poverty

"That, with November 24th, 2009 marking the 20th anniversary
of the 1989 unanimous resolution of this House to eliminate poverty among Canadian
children by the year 2000, and not having achieved that goal, be it resolved
that the Government of Canada, taking into consideration the Committees
work in this regard, and respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction,
develop an immediate plan to eliminate poverty in Canada for all."
Source:Report
6 - Poverty Reduction in Canada
Adopted by the Committee on November 17, 2009;
Presented to the House on November 20, 2009;
Concurred in by the House on November 24, 2009.

---

With the motion now passed, there is Parliaments commitment
to a federal plan for the elimination of poverty. This is a major step towards
accomplishing the first of the three goals of Dignity
for All: The Campaign for a Poverty-free Canada. The challenge now is
for parliamentarians and civil society  including those with the lived
experience of poverty  to work together even more closely to determine
the substance and timely delivery as well as the accountability mechanisms of
the plan. And, to root the entire effort within a framework of Canadas
commitment to economic and social rights (food, housing, adequate standard of
living etc.) such as enshrined within international human rights law to which
Canada is signatory.

Todays welcome motion came about thanks to the leading
efforts of Laurel Rothman and her team at Campaign
2000, working with certain members of the HUMA Committee and other civil
society groups. Kudos to Campaign 2000 and to the members of the HUMA Committee
for todays result!

Related links:

Promises
to end child poverty easier than progress
November 24, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
Erica Vergara was born into a struggling immigrant family three months after
federal MPs unanimously resolved to end child poverty by 2000. Today, on the
20th anniversary of that pledge, Vergara, 19, and her 3-year-old daughter Alizah,
are the face of federal failure. They are among some 637,000 children 
or almost one in 10 Canadian kids  living in poverty. That's down slightly
from 11.9 per cent, or 792,000 children who were poor in 1989, says Campaign
2000, a national coalition that has been tracking the lack of progress on the
federal promise for years. (...) National programs for child care, affordable
housing and employment equity to help level the playing field for immigrants
and people of colour who experience high rates of child poverty would make a
huge difference for Vergara and other poor families raising children, says Campaign
2000's report. But ultimately, Canada needs a broader poverty reduction strategy.
Source:Parent Central
[ Toronto Star ]

Source:Campaign 2000
Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build Canadian
awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons resolution to
end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign 2000 began in 1991 out
of concern about the lack of government progress in addressing child poverty.
Campaign 2000 is non-partisan in urging all Canadian elected officials to keep
their promise to Canada's children.

CanChild
"CanChild is a centre for childhood disability research that seeks to maximize
the life quality of children and youth with disabilities and their families.
CanChild is comprised of a multi-disciplinary team working in the field of childhood
disability. The aims of this research centre are to:
 take a leadership role in identifying emerging issues for research, practice,
policy and education
 conduct high-quality research
 effectively transfer knowledge into practice at clinical and health system
levels
 provide education for consumers, service providers, policy makers and
students"
- incl. links to: What's New - Our Research - Online Publications - List of
Articles & Books - Measures & Multimedia - Browse by Theme - External
Links - Order Form - Contact Us
Source:McMaster University Faculty of Health
Science

Canadian
Coalition for the Rights of Children - " ...for the promotion and protection
of children's rights in Canada and abroad" "The mandate of the Coalition
is to ensure a collective voice for Canadian organizations and youth concerned
with the rights of children as described in the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the World Summit for Children Declaration. Formed in 1989
after the unanimous adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the
United Nations General Assembly, the Coalition has grown to include over 50 national
and provincial non-government organizations (NGOs) committed to promoting and
protecting the rights of children in Canada and abroad." - incl. links
to : More About the Coalition - Our members, and links to their sites - UN Special
Session on Children - How Does Canada Measure Up? Say it Right - Quiz

Children
in North America Project websiteThe Children in North America Project
aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada,
Mexico, and the United States. Through a series of indicator reports, the project
hopes to build a better understanding of how our children are faring and the opportunities
and challenges they face looking to the future.

Child
Health and SafetyJune 4, 2007In conjunction
with our partners in Mexico and the United States, the Canadian Council on Social
Development has released Child Health and Safety, a new report in the Children
in North America series. It provides indicator data on the physical, mental and
environmental health of children. - incl. links to Growing Up in North
America (May 2006) and other related material

Children
in North America Project websiteThe Children in North America Project
aims to highlight the conditions and well-being of children and youth in Canada,
Mexico, and the United States. Through a series of indicator reports, the project
hopes to build a better understanding of how our children are faring and the opportunities
and challenges they face looking to the future.

Annie
E. Casey FoundationSince 1948, the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF)
has worked to build better futures for disadvantaged children and their families
in the United States. The primary mission of the Foundation is to foster public
policies, human service reforms, and community supports that more effectively
meet the needs of today's vulnerable children and families.

Some
families losing groundin effort to provide stable family incomesMedia
ReleaseApril 26, 2006OTTAWA  One-third of Canadian children living
in poverty have a parent who works at a full-time job, according to a new report
by the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). The Progress of Canada's
Children and Youth 2006 also shows that this situation is deteriorating.
In 1993, one-quarter of poor children had a parent who worked full time. "Family
income is recognized as one of the keys to healthy child development," says
Dr. Peter Bleyer, CCSD President. "Yet job security eludes many Canadian
parents, and that has an enormous impact on what their kids eat, how they learn,
and where they play." Temporary, part-time, contract, and seasonal employment
now make up 37% of Canadian jobs, compared to 25% in the mid-1970s. The CCSD report
also shows that investing in children through government transfers brought the
child poverty rate down from 27% to 18% in 2003.

"The
Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is the host of the conference Child
Care For A Change! Shaping the 21st Century." The conference will take place
at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, in Winnipeg, from November 12th to 14th, 2004.
This exciting pan-Canadian conference will feature inspiring
speakers such as UN Special Envoy Stephen Lewis and Quebec Education Critic
Pauline Marois. It will provide ample time for a rich dialogue and debate
during sessions like the special Town Hall Meeting on Child Care. It is expected
that the ideas generated from the conference will influence public policy and
public perception about early learning and child care and help set the agenda
for the next decade."General
Info - Program
(incl. list of 15 workshops)- Speakers
- Papers - Registration
- Accommodation

National
Child Day is here  but will children with special needs be celebrating?Communiqué
November 20, 2001 Ottawa  The Canadian Council on Social Development
(CCSD) today marked National Child Day with the release of a report highlighting
the difficulties and barriers facing children with special needs  problems
which should be diminishing, given the Prime Ministers public commitment
to Canadas children in the last Speech from the Throne, but which in fact
remain daunting. Executive
SummaryFull
Report Online (PDF file - 281K, 56 pages)

Submission
to the Standing Committee on Finance, detailing our priorities for the 2000 federal
budget October 26, 1999- "To
lay the conditions for future social cohesion and sustainable economic prosperity
shared by all, the CCSD is calling for a Children's Budget focused on the critical
needs of Canadian children, youth and families"
- incl. "Reinvesting in the Social Infrastructure" - improvements to the NCA and
NCB, for example..."The CCSD also recommends that
the government index the child benefit system to inflation (at an estimated cost
of $200 million per year) and ensure that benefits flow to all poor children,
including those living in families that rely on social assistance."

Child
Poverty in Canada: Recasting the Issue - David Ross, Toronto
April 1998"According to the Fraser [Institute] analysis, child poverty
is really only a problem among those who live in families where incomes are so
low that the parents cannot even afford adequate food and shelter (...) let me
remind them that Canada is not a Third World country."

Canadian
Children's Rights Council"The Canadian
Children's Rights Council was formed in the early 1990's to monitor compliance
of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Canada. (...) We
are a non-profit, non governmental educational and advocacy organization dedicated
to supporting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian children. (...) We are
a member of the Child Rights Information Network
(CRIN), an international, world-wide organization which is comprised of over
2000 member children's rights organizations."- highly recommended site
- tons of content!- covers many aspects of children's rights, including child
poverty, child and youth justice, children's identity rights, child protection,
parental alienation syndrome and much more...- large section devoted to education
about the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child + analysis of the Government
of Canada's actions and reports to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Research
Themes18 themes in all (only the main themes dealing with kids appear
below),incl. links to the following content for each theme: Sub-Themes - Publications
- Partners - Events - Links Research themes focusing on families and children:Cities
and Communities Citizenship and DiversityGovernance and Social Policy
Kids Canada Policy Digest [coming soon!]Social Cohesion Nexus Family Network
The Best Policy Mix for Canadians Family NetworkUrban Nexus Family Network

Site
Map --- links to all major pages in the website; good way to get around...

Canadian
Symposium For Parental Alienation SyndromeMarch
27-29, 2009Metro Toronto Convention Centre, TorontoThe Canadian Symposium
For Parental Alienation Syndrome (CS - PAS), is an educational conference for
Canadian and international mental health professionals, family law attorneys and
other professionals dedicated to the prevention and treatment of Parental Alienation
and Parental Alienation Syndrome.

COMMENT: When the link
to the above event was first suggested to me, I felt that the theme of the symposium
was somewhat distant from the focus of my site, and I considered passing up the
opportunity to promote the event. However, the request to link to that event made
me think back to how my own marital split in the early 1980s was largely unacrimonious
and unalienating, and how I've always thought that my/our child from that marriage
is a better person for it. According to the organizer of this event, "...hundreds
of thousands of children in Canada suffer from this form of child abuse."
If this symposium can help reduce those numbers, I'm pleased to be able to help
spread the word about the event. [Gilles]

From
patchwork to excellence in child careNovember 2, 2004"OTTAWA
 Canada will go from patchwork to excellence if all levels of government
work together to create the public, not-for-profit child care system that Canadians
deserve and need, said Paul Moist, CUPE national president. Moist made the remarks
as he joined with child care workers, parents and children to greet Minister Dryden
Tuesday morning as Dryden began his day-long meeting with provincial social development
ministers to discuss the child care program."- incl. links to the following
related articles:* Wages for child care workers: the link with quality
* URGENT: Tell Ken Dryden to make child care history * CUPEs analysis
of the federal speech from the throne * CUPE blasts throne speech as blueprint
for weak federalism * Rapid response wins reprieve for BC college child care
centre

CanLearn
Interactive"Welcome to CanLearn Interactive,
the one-stop online source for information on post-secondary education in Canada.
Whether you're a student, a teacher, a counsellor, or a parent, CanLearn Interactive
has everything you need to help plan and finance education and learning. You will
find information about Canadian universities and colleges, scholarships, and much
more. CanLearn Interactive also includes the National Student Loans Service Centre,
where you will find all the information you need to apply for, maintain and repay
your student loans."

Expert
Advisory Committee on children announced News Release November
23, 2001 OTTAWA -- Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Secretary of State for Children and
Youth, today announced on behalf of Health Minister Allan Rock, the creation of
a National Expert Advisory Committee on the Centres of Excellence for Children's
Well-Being. Ms. Blondin Andrew made the announcement at a national conference
in Ottawa featuring the work of the five Centres of Excellence. Over 400 experts,
including researchers, policymakers, and professionals in health, education, child
care and social services are attending the conference.Members
of the National Expert Advisory Committee Source : Health
Canada

Centre
for Children and Families in the Justice System (London Family Court Clinic)
The is a non-profit agency in London, Ontario, which advocates for the special
needs of children involved in the justice system as young offenders, victims of
crime or abuse, or as the subjects of custody disputes. Our advocacy includes
assessment, counselling, prevention services, research, dissemination of information,
and training for the community. The Centre has seven core areas: Child Witness
Project - Clinical Supports Program - Counselling Services - Custody and Access
Project (including mediation) - Research Services - Young Offender Services -
Violence Prevention ServicesWeb
Links -excellent resources! - incl. Child Abuse - Relationship Abuse
- Restorative Justice - School Violence & Bullying - Victims of Crime - Women
Offenders - Young Offenders

Centre
for Families, Work & Well-BeingThe Centre for Families, Work and
Well-Being at the University of Guelph conducts research and outreach to workplaces
on work-family conflict, workplace policies, and community supports. The Centre
website includes a large selection of resources and links related to work and
family.

Father Involvement
Research Alliance (FIRA)FIRA is a pan-Canadian alliance of
individuals, organizations and institutions dedicated to the development and sharing
of knowledge focusing on father involvement, and the building of a community-university
research alliance supporting this work.- incl. links to the following Research
Clusters: * Immigrant Fathers * Gay/Bi/Queer Fathers
* Separated and Divorced Fathers * New Fathers * Indigenous Fathers * Young Fathers
* Fathers of Children with Special Needs

FIRA
online resources - papers, books, articles, reports, and and excellent
collection of links to
parenting resources and father resources.

Inventory
of Policies and Policy Areas Influencing Father Involvement
(PDF file - 2.4MB, 160 pages)By Donna S. Lero, Lynda M. Ashbourne and Denise
L. WhiteheadMay 2006The purpose of this inventory is "to begin to
identify the various ways current policies and institutional practices may affect
fathers in diverse subpopulations and social circumstances across Canada, and
to encourage discussion, analysis and debate about how policies and practices
might better serve to support fathers."

Child
Care Advocacy Association of Canada"The Child Care Advocacy Association
of Canada (CCAAC) arose from the second Canadian conference on Child Care held
in Winnipeg in 1982. Over 700 delegates from all Provinces and Territories called
for an effective voice to pursue child care issues at the federal level and
to promote a broad consensus of support within all regions of Canada. We are
an incorporated, non-profit, bilingual Association."

Childcare
Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)"The Childcare Resource
and Research Unit focuses on early childhood care and education research and policy.
Its mandate is to advance the idea of a publicly-funded, universally accessible,
comprehensive, high quality, not-for-profit system of early childhood care and
education in Canada."

[NOTE: The Childcare Resource
and Research Unit left the University of Toronto
in spring 2007, and is now incorporated as a non-profit organization.]

IT
WAS TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY...MARCH 8, 1986by Martha FriendlyChildcare
Resource and Research UnitMarch 2006International Womens Day 2006
is the twentieth anniversary of the Report of the federal governments first
and only Task Force on Child Care. The key recommendation of the "Katie Cooke
Task Force" was a universal system of child care  co-funded by federal
and provincial governments. It would have affordable parent fees, would be designed
and managed by the provinces under national standards and would be built through
a gradual increase in the supply of regulated child care until the year 2001 when
it would serve all children and families. The cost at that time, the Task Force
calculated, would be $11.3 billion.

Early
learning and child care: Getting the next steps right:Brief to the Standing
Committee on FinanceBy Martha FriendlyPublished
18 Nov 04Posted Online December 21"Based on the history and condition
of Canadian ELCC, the commitment to develop a universal system of high quality
ELCC by the Liberal government, the high expectation that this time the promises
on child care will be fulfilled, and the extensive knowledge about policy learned
from work such as the OECD Review, three recommendations about financing ELCC
beginning in the 2005 federal budget follow. These financing recommendations propose
ways to help ensure that the next steps toward a universal national system of
high quality early learning and child care will be the right steps."Complete
Brief (PDF file - 188K, 7 pages)Source: Childcare
Resource and Research Unit

Child
Welfare League of Canada (CWLC) "The CWLC advocates for public
policies, legislation and funding, to achieve a supportive, respectful, effective,
coordinated, rational and accountable system of support for children and families.
To achieve this goal the CWLC works with other national, provincial, local and
Aboriginal organizations to identify shared goals to ensure that the needs of
vulnerable children and families are met. As well, the CWLC monitors Canadian
public policy and legislative activities and proposes effective and accessible
initiatives on behalf of all children and families."

Child
Welfare League of Canada E-News serviceThe Child Welfare League of Canada
e-newsletter is the CWLC's way of keeping in touch with you. In it, you will find
articles of interest about child protection, child rights, child and youth mental
health, youth justice, along with sections on upcoming conferences and events,
recent publications in your area of interest, job postings and announcements.

Centre
for Research on Children in the United States (CROCUS)CROCUS at Georgetown
University has worked on a variety of research projects relating to children and
public policy. Faculty and students have also examined child traffic fatalities,
juvenile justice, and the strategies of child advocacy groups, among other research
projects.

When
Youth Age Out of Care - Where to from there? (PDF file - 1.8MB, 62
pages) By Deborah Rutman, Carol Hubberstey and April FeduniwBased on a
three-year longitudinal study and presents findings from 4 waves of interviews.
Youth from this study were found to to have a lower level of education; be more
likely to rely on income assistance as their main source of income; have a more
fragile social support network; experience considerable transience and housing
instability; and be parenting. In relation to criminal activities, youths' involvement
with the criminal justice system declined over time. However, subsequent to leaving
care, they continued to be victimized in various ways.

The
Welfare of Canadian Children : Its Our BusinessA Collection of Resource
Papers for a Healthy Future for Canadian Children and Families
(PDF file - 911K, 164 pages)October 2007In 2002, the Board of Directors
of the Child Welfare League of Canada began a review of key child welfare issues
in Canada in order to identify concerns and priorities that will inform actions
required to ensure a healthy future for generations to come. The result is this
collection of resource papers.Table of Contents:AcknowledgementsBackground
and IntroductionChapter 1: History of Child Welfare in CanadaChapter 2:
LexiconChapter 3: Key International Instruments and Federal/Provincial/Territorial
Legislation on ChildrenChapter 4: Child and Family Services in Canada by JurisdictionChapter
5: History and Mandate of the Child Welfare League of CanadaChapter 6: Child
Welfare in Canada: Framework for ActionChapter 7: Resource Papers (various
authors) --- Children in care in Canada: A summary of current issues and trends
with recommendations for future research--- Child Protection in Canada---
Aboriginal.children,.families.and.communities--- Youth homelessness: Facts
and beliefs--- Childrens Mental HealthAppendix A: A national perspective
on childrens mental healt (7 papers)

Child
Welfare Resource Centre (CWRC) *- offers a multitude of links to provincial
and territorial child and family services sites across Canada, including government
departments, associations, resources for foster parents, adoption resources, Native
child welfare sites, schools of social work, and much more.*NOTE: on December
20/07, the CRWC website link took me to an error page that said: "can't find
the server at www.childwelfare.ca". If the link to the home page isn't reactivated
when you click, try going to www.archive.org
and entering the CWRC's domain name (www.childwelfare.ca) in the "Wayback
Machine" box Archive.org's home page. On the results page, you'll see links
to the latest versions of the entire (or most of ) the content from the website
on the date that you select.

Children's
Services Division (City of Toronto)"Children's Services is designated
as the City's 'child care service system manager' under provincial legislation
and as such has responsibility for planning and managing a broad range of child
care services. These child care services include fee subsidy, wage subsidy, family
resource centres, special needs resourcing and summer day camps. In addition to
its service management responsibilities for child care, the Children's Services
Division also directly operates 58 child care sites."- incl. links to
: Children's Services - About us - Looking for child care - Applying for subsidy
- Information for child care providers - Child Care Advisory Committee - Reports
- Facts & figures - Calendar - Contact us - Child care finder (Maps
and listings by city ward) - Facts & Figures (Statistics on child care and
children in the city) - Services for children with special needs - Toronto Children's
Agenda - City operated child care - Family resource programs - Toronto First Duty
Project - Other resources for children and families

Toronto
Report Card on Children 2003 Update (Volume 5)January 2004"This
5th edition of The Toronto Report Card on Children measures the health and well-being
of children using a variety of social indicators. Changes in the condition of
children over time are monitored to ensure that targets for improvement are developed
and adequate resources are allocated to allow every child, regardless of their
circumstance, to thrive and grow."

How
much difference would the NCBS make for food bank families? (PDF file
- 138K, 2 pages)Research Bulletin #4 - A review of the impact of the "clawback"
of the National Child Benefit Supplement is affecting children whose families
are on social assistance. August 31, 2004"...it is possible to extrapolate
that approximately 13,500 children in the Greater Toronto Area alone would no
longer need to use a food bank if their families received the National Child Benefit
Supplement."Source:Publications

Ed
Broadbent, Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre"(...) In his
final speech in Parliament, in December 1989, he moved a motion, unanimously adopted,
which committed the government of Canada to end child poverty in the country by
the year 2000."- "Why
I Am Running" : Statement by Ed Broadbent (December 18, 2003)"(...)
Today, while the real-life experiences of average and poor Canadians have suffered
a setback, Paul Martins limited notion of democratic deficit
is restricted to reform of Parliamentary committees and rules. The more serious
deficit is found outside the House of Commons in the lives of ordinary people.
Consider what has happened during the time when Paul Martin was Minister of Finance:
Child poverty in Canada is now over one million  which is up, not down from
1989 when Paul Martin and other Liberals promised to abolish it.(...)"

Building
a Future Together: Issues and Outcomes for Transition-Aged Youth
(PDF file - 1.2MB, 69 pages)November 2006By Carrie Reid and Peter DuddingThe
Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare, along with the Child Welfare League of
Canada and the National Youth in Care Network, are proud to announce the release
of Building a Future Together: Issues and Outcomes for Transition-Aged Youth.
This paper examines the complex issues facing youth as they transition out of
state care and into adulthood. Eight areas are discussed: relationships, education,
housing, life skills, identity, youth engagement, emotional healing and financial
support. Also included is an examination of international practices in this area
as well as the results of a survey of transition to adulthood programs and policies
in each province and territory.

Jordans
Principle Joint Declaration to Resolving Jurisdictional Disputes Affecting
Services to First Nations Children"Jordan's Principle presents
a child first policy to resolving inter and intra governmental jurisdictional
disputes that arise around services for a Status Indian child which are otherwise
available to other Canadian children. All provincial/territorial and federal governments
are encouraged to endorse this cost neutral policy without delay. Jordan's Principle
was unanimously endorsed by the Chiefs in Assembly of the Assembly of First Nations
in December. For more information on Jordans Principle, please visit the
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canadas website."

Indigenous
child welfare conference features Canadian, U.S., international perspectivesChild
advocates, political leaders share common goal to build better foundation for
child welfare systemOctober 24, 2005"An
unprecedented gathering of Canadian, U.S., and international child advocates and
political leaders convenes in Niagara Falls on Oct. 26, to begin meaningful reform
of Indigenous child welfare systems.Reconciliation: Looking Back, Reaching
ForwardIndigenous Peoples and Child Welfare is a three-day event, Oct. 26
to 28, at the White Oaks Conference Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Our
intention is to start a sustainable movement to reshape child welfare systems,
which have disproportional numbers of Aboriginal children in both Canada and the
U.S. We need to recognize the rights and abilities of Indigenous peoples to make
the best decisions for Indigenous children, said event organizer Cindy Blackstock,
Executive Director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

A
Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography on Aspects of Aboriginal Child
Welfare in Canada (PDF file - 2.8MB, 254 pages)Second
Edition - 2005 (File dated June 2005)By Marlyn Bennett, Cindy Blackstock and
Richard De La Ronde"This
comprehensive and user friendly literature review and annotated bibliography has
been prepared at the request of the First Nations Child & Family Caring Society
of Canada as part of the research activities undertaken by the First Nations Research
Site as noted in its 2002 Work Plan to the Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare.
It was designed to incorporate research and articles from all disciplines relevant
to Aboriginal children, youth and the well being of the Aboriginal family. This
literature review includes many unpublished papers, program descriptions and reports
produced by, or for, Aboriginal Child Welfare agencies, as well as resources from
many provincial, state, and federal governments in Canada and the United States.
In addition, this review includes a consideration of some of the research conducted
and produced by Masters and Doctoral students within Canada in relation to matters
that touch on child welfare and/or social related issues benefiting or impacting
on all aspects and well-being of Aboriginal children, families and communities."Source:The
First Nations Research Site
of the Centre of Excellence for
Child Welfare and The First Nations
Child & Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS)

Aboriginal
Childrens Circle of Early Learning (ACCEL) "is a fully-functioning
bilingual, web portal clearinghouse on Aboriginal early childhood development
(ECD). You can consult the site to review, research and discuss best and promising
practices; to exchange with a highly engaged network of Aboriginal ECD practitioners
and researchers; and to keep in touch with the emerging needs of communities across
Canada. (...) The ACCEL is being developed by and for Aboriginal communities in
partnership by two national non-profit organizations the First Nations Child
and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS) and the Canadian
Child Care Federation (CCCF)."

First
Peoples Child & Family ReviewA Journal on Innovation and Best Practices
inAboriginal Child Welfare Administration, Research, Policy and PracticeFirst
Nations Research Site On-line JournalVolume 1, Number 1, 2004September
2004"The First Peoples Child & Family Review is a new, online journal,
published jointly by the First Nations Research Site, Centre of Excellence for
Child Welfare, and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada.
This e-journal focuses primarily on First Nations and Aboriginal child welfare
practices, policies, and research. It is a journal that privileges the "voice
and perspectives" of First Nations and Aboriginal child welfare scholars,
researchers, practitioners, trainers, students, volunteers and community developers.
The journal was developed by the First Nations Research Site, Centre of Excellence
for Child Welfare and First Nations Child & Family Caring Society of Canada,
Inc. and will be published twice a year."

Journal
Table of Contents - incl. links to each of the eight articles (individual
PDF files) in this 110-page online journalSample content:Foreword
by Cindy Blackstock (PDF - 540K, 1 page)Editorial
by Marlyn Bennett (PDF - 600K, 3 pages)[NOTE: the editorial includes a synopsis
of each of the articles in the journal]

Foster
Care Council of CanadaThe Foster Care Council of Canada is a non-profit
organization made up of people who have lived in foster care and their supporters.
(...) The Council's mission is to involve current and former child-welfare service
clients and their supporters in the process of improving the quality and accountability
of child-welfare services through a strong and united voice. - founded
by John Dunn, former foster child (Crown Ward) of the Catholic Children's
Aid Society of Toronto.- includes links to : *
NEWS * About Us * Campaigns * Enforcement * Message Board * Resources * Contact
Us

Canada
Court Watch Program - Family Justice Review CommitteeA program of
the National Association for Public and Private Accountability"Protecting
the public's interest in the administration of Justice"Canada's only
independent media source dedicated exclusively to news and information related
to the Canadian Justice System and Canada's system of child protection

Personal
note:John and I had exchanged e-mails several years ago when he
had a website in Charlottetown, and I was quite impressed with his passion for
justice for kids who are victims of abuse while they're in the foster care system.
John is a foster care survivor with sixteen years' experience in foster care,
in a total of thirteen foster homes. He's in his thirties now, and currently living
in Ottawa; he's the founder of the Foster Care Council of Canada. I had the good
fortune to meet him at a social policy event taking place in Ottawa around 2003,
and we spent some time chatting. It was a thrill for me to meet someone who is
so passionate about the rights of abused children in foster care AND who's actually
doing something about it.John, you're an inspiration, and I wish you all the
best in everything you do...

IRPP
Study: Child Tax Benefit Ineffective in Addressing Child PovertyJune 10,
2003 "An exhaustive examination of Canadas family policy concludes
that recent federal and provincial government initiatives are misguided and have
not efficiently addressed the problems of child poverty. 'The Child Tax Benefit
is a dead end'assert Pierre Lefebvre and Philip Merrigan in 'Assessing Family
Policy in Canada: A New Deal for Families and Children,' released today by the
Institute for Research on Public Policy."News
Release (small PDF file)Summary
(small PDF file)Complete
Study (PDF file - 395K, 100 pages)

Invest
in Kids"The years before five last the rest of their lives"
"Invest in Kids is a national, charitable organization dedicated to ensuring
the healthy social, emotional and intellectual development of children from birth
to age five. Guided by a staff of experts in child development and parenting,
our research, parent education and professional education initiatives are aimed
at strengthening the parenting knowledge, skills and confidence of all those who
touch the lives of Canadas youngest children."

-
Great resource site for parents raising young children and the professionals who
work with them - content in the parents' section is broken up into different
children's age groups from zero to five years- professional section includes
links to : Who We Are - Research - Professional Education - Public Education -
Polling the Pros - We Recommend - Store

Sample links:Who
We Are - links to the following : Our People - Research - Public Awareness
and Education - Professional Education - Fundraising Events - Annual Report -
Media Centre - Contact Us We
Recommend - links to the following info : Recommended websites, books
for parents and for children, magazines, videos for parents and for children,TV
Shows for parents and for childrenThis is a site with a lot of excellent content,
well worth exploring - and you'll keep on finding new content...

International
Bureau for Children's Rights The International
Bureau for Children's Rights was founded in Paris on 20 November, 1994, at the
initiative of Judge Andrée Ruffo of the Quebec Juvenile Court (Canada).
The Bureau's mission is to protect, defend and promote the rights and the welfare
of all children in every corner of the globe.

Laidlaw
Foundation (Toronto) "The Laidlaw Foundation uses its human and
financial resources in innovative ways to strengthen the environment for children,
youth and families, to enhance opportunities for human development and creativity
and to sustain healthy communities and ecosystems.

Building
Inclusive Cities and Communities is the focus of the Children's Agenda
Program of the Laidlaw Foundation. It follows a two-year process whereby the Foundation
adopted social inclusion as a tool for evaluating and advancing social policy
in support of children and families. The Foundation commissioned 12 working papers
that have contributed to understanding social inclusion and pointed to the importance
of cities and communities as places where inclusion and exclusion are first experienced
by children and families."

Canadian young people are depending
on their parents well into their 20's for the ever growing costs of education
and adulthood. But one group is expected to be self sufficient by their 18th birthday
- the thousands of young people who don't have parents to help them through, who
grow up and 'age out' of foster care.

In Ontario, in the past three years,
it is estimated that over 2,000 youth who were removed from their first homes
have left their second home - the child welfare system - because they became too
old to remain in it. And they face considerable challenges in making the transition
from state care to adulthood.

The Toronto-based Task Force on Modernizing
Income Security for Working Age Adults (MISWAA) prepared a widely acclaimed paper
on this topic, entitled Youth Leaving Care  How Do They Fare?
(September 2005), by Anne Tweddle.

"TORONTO,
Oct. 28 - Compared to their peers, youth exiting, or leaving the care of child
welfare agencies are often consigned to a cycle of persistent poverty, are more
dependent on adult social assistance, and are overly represented in the mental
health and criminal justice system according to Youth Leaving Care: How do they
Fare?, a study released today by the Task Force on Modernizing Income Security
for Working Age Adults (MISWAA).

Complete report:

Youth
Leaving Care  How Do They Fare?Briefing Paper (PDF
file - 242K, 31 pages)September 2005By Anne Tweddle"This discussion
paper was prepared for the Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults
(MISWAA) Project in order to support and inform short- and long-term recommendations
respecting challenges facing youth leaving care."

Smoothing
a brutal transitionOctober 28, 2005By Carol GoarTrying
to be gentle, social workers coined the phrase "aging out of care" to
describe what happens to adolescents who reach the end of the child welfare system.
In an earlier, less tactful era, they were simply terminated. But no amount of
semantic cushioning can soften what, in real life, is a brutal transition. At
the age of 18, crown wards, whose only parent has been the state for most or all
of their lives, suddenly have no parent. They're on their own. In
Ontario, some are eligible for extended care and maintenance payments of $663
per month until they reach 21. But many  usually those least able to cope
 are cut off completely. They're alone in the adult world.Source:Toronto
Star

National
Youth In Care Network"The National Youth
In Care Network exists to voice the opinions and concerns of youth in and from
care and promote the improvement of services for them. We help our members find
their voices and regain control over their lives through support, skill building,
and healing opportunities."- incl. links to : our bio (mandate,
history, leadership, operational philosophy) - our work (consulting services,
ken dryden scholarship, healing and training intensives, primer, our issues and
sensitivity training research and development) - our people (youth
in care, members and supporters, board of directors, staff, youth in care networks)
- our resources (stories, youth in care rights and resources, education,
supporting youth in care networks, research, tools and manuals, links) - contact
info

Youth
Engagement Program Resources - from the Laidlaw
FoundationThe Youth Engagement Program Resources page of the Laidlaw
Foundation's website includes links to over a dozen reports, articles, etc., including
reports on youth aging out of the child protection system in Canada by Deborah
Rutman...

National
Youth in Care NetworkThe National Youth in Care Network is the oldest
national youth-directed organization in Canada. We believe that youth in care
have the expert knowledge to make the system more humane. And we believe that
by helping them voice their own opinions, we help them realize their own potential,
develop strength and confidence in themselves and exercise control over their
lives and futures.- incl. links to : our bio (mandate - history - leadership
- operational philosophy); our work ( consulting services - ken dryden
scholarship - healing and training intensives - primer, our issues and sensitivity
training - research and development) our people (youth in care - members
and supporters - board of directors - staff - youth in care networks) our resources
(tories - youth in care rights and resources - education - supporting youth in
care networks - research - tools and manuals - links) our contact info

the
networker (PDF file - 229K, 4 pages)NewsletterWinter 2005/6In
This Issue: Limited Time Offer for Foster Families Update
from the Federation of BC Youth in Care Networks Stories on System Kidz
Wards of the Crown: A New Documentary on Youth in Care [see above]

the
networker is the quarterly newsletter of the National Youth in Care Network.

Ontario
Association of Children's Aid Societies (OACAS)OACAS is a membership
organization that represents 53 children's aid societies in Ontario. We have served
our members, the community, the public and the government in a variety of ways
since 1912. These services have included the promotion of child welfare issues,
member services, government liaison and policy development, research and special
projects, quality assurance in child welfare practice and training for all protection
workers throughout the province.

Wards
of the Crown: A New Documentary on Youth in Care"At age 13, Andrée
Cazabon was briefly placed in a group home. Marked by this experience, she decided
to track four young people for 10 months as they prepared to leave foster care.
I wanted to reveal the impact of an institutional upbringing, she
says. When these young people were brought in, they were told they would
be taken to someplace safer and better ..But were they really? The
result is Wards of The Crown / Enfants de la couronne, a stirring documentary
about a little-known reality, available in both an English version and a French
version." [total running time: 45 minutes]

Foster
Care Council of Canada"Mission: to give children, youth and their
family members who have been separated by child welfare authorities a voice, bring
accountability to child welfare, provide support for anyone affected by the foster
care system and to disseminate important foster care related information and resources
for public education."

Universal
Children's Day20 November 2003"The General Assembly recommended
in 1954 that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed
as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children and of activity
promoting the welfare of the world's children. (...) The date of 20 November marks
the day in which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child,
in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989."- 50+
links to UN and related resource for children, including : Unicef programs, Children's
Rights, the State of the World's Children, 2003, Monitoring the Situation of Children
and Women), Unicef & the Global Movement for Children, United Nations Special
Session on Children, Children and the UN, A World Fit for Children, United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights - Unesco - World Bank - international children's
resources - much more...Source:Dag
Hammarskjöld Library[ United Nations
]

National
Children's Alliance "The National Children's Alliance is a network
of 52 national organizations committed to improving the lives of children and
youth in Canada. Since its inception in 1996 the Alliance has worked to:
- facilitate dialogue on children's issues with government - strengthen
the network of national voluntary organizations and NGOs - develop policy
recommendations - engage provincial/territorial/regional constituent organizations
in working collaboratively on issues, and - promote the development and implementation
of a national children's agenda."

Links
- to almost 50 related websites, including many member organizations

National
Childrens Alliance Newsletter - December 2003 (PDF file - 291K,
9 pages)In this Issue:- Towards Working Together for Aboriginal Children
in Canada A National Children's Agenda (NCA) Workshop - October 29th 2003-
Community Infrastructure Fund Update- Keeping the Promise  The Role
of Monitoring in the Advocacy of the NCA - NCA Workshop November 27th 28th,
2003- National Plan of Action- Brief to the Standing Committee on Finance-
China Delegation Visit (November 11)- Meeting with Minister Stewart (October
20, 2003)- National Childrens Alliance Member News- more...

Children
in Care in Canada : A summary of current issues and trends with recommendations
for future research (PDF file - 296K, 26 pages)Cheryl Farris-Manning
and Marietta ZandstraFoster LIFE Inc.April 2003Source: National
Children's AllianceOverview of the child protection system in Canada,
with a special focus on issues, e.g., shortage of placement resources - lack of
national standards - increased workload for child protection workers - child welfare
legislation (themes and issues) - impact of funding frameworks - current challenges
in foster care - broadening permanency options - adoption issues - geographic
jurisdiction - delegation of childrens services to First Nations agencies
- services to older youth - transition-to-adulthood services - special needs of
Children (identifiablepopulations) - national trends - recruitment, assessment
and training for all family-based caregivers - permanency planning models - outcome
measures for children in care - adherence to and relevance of the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child - recommendations for future research - about the authors
- bibliography - glossary of terms

Related
Links:

Centre
of Excellence for Child Welfare - Network of Canadian universities, non-governmental
organizations and governmentChild
Welfare Resource Centre (CWRC) *- offers a multitude of links to provincial
and territorial child and family services sites across Canada, including government
departments, associations, resources for foster parents, adoption resources, Native
child welfare sites, schools of social work, and much more.*NOTE: on December
20/07, the CRWC website link took me to an error page that said: "can't find
the server at www.childwelfare.ca". If the link to the home page isn't reactivated
when you click, try going to www.archive.org
and entering the CWRC's domain name (www.childwelfare.ca) in the "Wayback
Machine" box Archive.org's home page. On the results page, you'll see links
to the latest versions of the entire (or most of ) the content from the website
on the date that you select.

National
Childrens Alliance Policy Paper on Aboriginal Children (PDF
file - 224K, 15 pages)April 2003Cindy Blackstock with assistance from
Marlyn Bennett- incl. Contextual History - Overview of Key Issues for Aboriginal
Children and Families - United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Recommendations - About the Authors - Glossary - References

First
National Roundtable on Children with DisabilitiesDecember 9 and
10, 2002 - OttawaThe National Childrens Alliance held a national roundtable
on December 9th and 10th, 2002 on the topic of Children with Disabilities. The
objective of this participatory event was to link research to practice and to
policy using the lens of children with disabilities and their families.Full
agenda (PDF file - 31K, 5 pages)

National
Children's Alliance Newsletter Spring 2002 (PDF file - 93K, 10 pages)Posted
July 3, 2002- incl. : The Alliance National Symposium: March 22/24 2002 -
Alliance Strategic Directions for 2002 to 2004 - Third Party Monitoring of the
Early Childhood Development Initiative & Child Outcome Indicators - Developing
an Alliance National Strategy for Children Aged 6 to 12 - The Health Care System
Reform Process - The National Childrens Alliance: Members & Membership

National
Symposium : Building Momentum (PDF file - 108K, 38 pages)
March 22-24, 2002 Symposium proceedings, posted May 2002 "The National
Childrens Alliance invited its members across the country to participate
in three days of strategy development around the Alliance priorities for the next
two years. Sixty-five plus representatives of the membership came to Ottawa to
share their best ideas and thoughts in the discussions."Reports and Papers - links to over 20 symposium papers, discussion
papers, position papers and summary reports from the National Children's Alliance
National Children's Alliance April 23, 2002

Response
from the National Childrens Alliance to Knowledge Matters(PDF file - 11K, 3 pages) "...a working group of the National Childrens
Alliance met to review the paper and provide feedback to HRDC. (...) As a starting
point, the working group highlighted some key areas that were not clearly identified
in the paper that need be addressed in the consultation process."

Brief
to the Standing Committee on Finance October 30, 2001 National
Children's Alliance "...the voluntary / NGO sectors participation
in the monitoring of the ECD is vital to establish guidelines and partnerships
in monitoring and research and to develop working relationships."

First
Baby Steps Taken Towards a National Children's Agenda Press Release
April 4, 2001 After many years of planning, advocacy work and policy
development, members of the National Children's Alliance - a coalition of voluntary
and NGO organizations dedicated to children's issues - are finally seeing results.
The federal government's $2.2 billion dollar investment in early childhood development
came into force on April 1st with the start of five years of funding going
to the provinces and territories.

to give
Aboriginal children and youth a decent chance in life. The report, First
Nations, Métis and Inuit Children and Youth: Time to Act, was prepared
by the National Council of Welfare (NCW), a federal advisory body, to draw attention
not only to the discrimination and poverty faced by many Aboriginal children and
youth but also to the many success stories. It combines statistical evidence with
interviews with Aboriginal women and men who work with children and youth. The
report notes that Council members, in the process of researching the report, were
astounded at the patience of Aboriginal people and themselves felt a sense of
frustration and impatience for bolder action.

Bolder action needed to give Aboriginal children and youth a decent life
September 18, 2007
Press Release
A new report released today concludes that bolder, more innovative government
action is needed to give Aboriginal children and youth a decent chance
in life. The report, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Children
and Youth: Time to Act, was prepared by the National Council of
Welfare (NCW), a federal advisory body, to draw attention not only to
the discrimination and poverty faced by many Aboriginal children and youth
but also to the many success stories. It combines statistical evidence
with interviews with Aboriginal women and men who work with children and
youth. The report notes that Council members, in the process of researching
the report, were astounded at the patience of Aboriginal people and themselves
felt a sense of frustration and impatience for bolder action.

National Film Board of Canada*:
[ * In commemorating the 20th year of the all-party resolution to end child
poverty, the National Film Board is working with a number of organizations and
agencies, including Campaign 2000, in a series of film screenings and community
forums of Four Feet Up. ]

Four Feet
Up is an intimate portrayal of child poverty in Canada by award-winning
photographer and documentary filmmaker Nance Ackerman.
Twenty years after the promise of the House of Commons "to eliminate poverty
among Canadian children," 8-year-old Isaiah contemplates what "less
fortunate" means as he finds his voice through his own magical drawings
and photographs. Astute about the fact that his parents don't make a lot of
money, Isaiah is unaware of their constant worry about putting food on the table,
affording any after-school opportunities, and keeping stereotypes at a distance.
[Click the link for information about screenings on Nov. 23 & 24 in seven
locations across Canada. ]

Related link:

Promise
to world's children remains unkept after 20 years
Even in a rich country like Canada, poverty continues to stunt too many young
livesBy Miles Corak
November 18, 2009
(... Over the last 20 years, the world of work has become increasingly challenging
for young families. Labour market inequality has increased tremendously, with
only the very very richest among us gaining from the almost 15 years of uninterrupted
economic growth since 1993. Families are more stressed, and the lack of a comprehensive
child care system has had the effect of making families convenient for the labour
market, rather than the other way around. It is no wonder that separation and
divorce rates are higher. And it is no wonder that just as many children find
themselves poor as a generation ago. While our governments can't be held entirely
accountable for this failure, they are not free from blame. Child poverty simply
has not been a priority for public policy.
Source:The Toronto Star
[Miles Corak is Professor of economics with the Graduate School of Public and
International Affairs at the University of O

Planned
Lifetime Advocacy Network (PLAN) - British Columbia"PLAN is a
registered non-profit charity created by and for families who have a relative
with a disability. We have two main functions:1. To assist families plan
a good life for their relative with a disability both now and in the future.2.
To ensure a safe and secure future by fulfilling the wishes of parents, after
they die, or are otherwise unable to. We do this by supporting, monitoring and
advocating for their son/daughter for the rest of their lives."- incl.
links to : About PLAN -Publications - Media Articles - Member Services - Forum
- Our Vision & Our Beliefs - What We Do - Who We Are - Future Planning - Personal
Networks - PLAN for Younger Families - Workshops - Join PLAN - Site Policy Statement
- more...

Securing
a Good Life for Our Family Members with Disabilities: A Proposal for Federal Reforms
(PDF file - 179K, 7 pages)August 22, 2003- includes a number of proposals
to help families plan for the time when they can no longer take care and provide
financial assistance for their relative with a disability- proposals include
a new Registered Disability Savings Plan and Disability Expense Tax Deduction,
improvement of the RRSP/RRIF rollover provisions, and better harmonization between
Old Age Security with provincial disability pensions.

PLAN
Affiliates- contact and (where available) website URL for organizations
in BC, Alberta, Sakatchewan, Ontario and Quebec as well as Seattle
(Washington) that are affiliated with PLAN.

The next
link below is to the PLAN affiliate in Ottawa. I had the pleasure of speaking
with a gentleman and his son who are part of the LNO during a recent fund-raising
garden tour.After visiting the PLAN and LNO websites, I thought this would
be worth promoting, to ensure that families in these difficult situations are
aware of this tremendous resource.[Use the link above to visit other PLAN
affiliates]

Lifetime
Networks Ottawa (LNO)"LNO is a registered non-profit charity
created by and for families who have a relative with a disability. We have two
main functions. We help create a safe, secure and full life for their relative
with a disability, and we make a commitment to provide lifetime advocacy and monitoring
for people with disabilities. Lifetime Networks Ottawa helps ensure a safe and
secure future by fulfilling the wishes of parents, after they die, or are otherwise
unable to. We do this by supporting, monitoring and advocating for their son/daughter
for the rest of their lives."

Related Links:

New
Ingredients for the Fiscal PieDecember 2003By Sherri Torjman"...argues
the need for exploring possible methods of expanding the fiscal pie.
It explores one possible model put forward by PLAN (Planned Lifetime Advocacy
Network), a group of parents of children with severe disabilities. The group proposes
a combination of private savings and public spending to help develop caring communities.
(...) The proposal represents one idea in a range of possible savings and investment
mechanisms to expand the fiscal pie  a direction which we should be debating
seriously as a nation."Complete
report (PDF file - 19K, 3 pages)Source:Caledon
Institute of Social Policy

Save
the Children CanadaSave the Children Canada is a non-political,
non-sectarian organization that has spent 80 years working to protect the children
of the world from neglect, cruelty and exploitation. The organization's role has
ranged from giving emergency aid to starving young victims, to supporting children,
families and communities in developing countries and at home in Canada.

UKChildcare
"The information contained within this site is geared primarily towards
a Canadian audience with an interest in improving the quality of child care
in our country. British models of policy, practice, and training are outlined
in an attempt to help you with your research endeavors. If we may further assist
you in any way, please feel free to contact us. Funds for the development of
the website were provided by Child Care Visions, Social Development Partnership
Program, Human Resources Development Canada to Dr. M. Kaye Kerr, Psychology,
University of Winnipeg. The site is hosted and resides at the University of
Winnipeg."
Excellent resource --- incl. Policy and Legislation - Education and Training
- Resources - Recommended Reading - Practices - Current Research - Organizations
- Glossary

The
Children Left Behind : The Canadian perspectiveReport Card 9 (2010)
* How does Canada measure up?Overall, Canada is in the middle of the group of wealthy nations in terms
of equality in child well-being, similar to less affluent countries like Poland
and Portugal
* A closer look at Canada's children A large gap leads not only to squandered individual lives but also to poorer
average levels of well being for all children. The heaviest costs of falling
behind are paid by the child.
* What Canada should doAmong the practical and affordable steps Canada can take now that would
make a real and lasting difference for children, UNICEF Canada recommends the
establishment of a National Childrens Commissioner to ensure the best
interests of children are considered in policy decisions that affect them, and
services and policies affecting children are coordinated across government so
all Canadian children have equitable access to and benefit from them.

Canada's poorest
children fall behind
By Norma Greenaway
December 3, 2010
Compared to other rich countries, Canada has a mediocre record of keeping the
wellbeing of its poorest children from falling behind their better off counterparts,
says a UNICEF report being released today. Canada placed 17th among 24 industrialized
countries in terms of the material well-being enjoyed by its poorest children,
ninth in terms of their health and third in education, according to the report.
Source:Ottawa Citizen

Source:Innocenti
Report Card 9: The Children Left Behind - main product page
- includes links to the news release and the report itself, along with press
materials, an opinion piece, some videos and more. I've copied some of those
links here; click the main product page link to see the rest.

Source:Innocenti Research Centre
The UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre in Florence, Italy, was established in
1988 to strengthen the research capability of the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) and to support its advocacy for children worldwide.
[ UNICEF ]

---------------------------------------------

UNICEF
Canada Report on Aboriginal Childrens Health Shows Disparities Between
Aboriginal Children and National Averages a Major Childrens Right ChallengeHealth
of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children Well Below National AveragesNews
ReleaseJune 24, 2009 Toronto - UNICEF Canada is marking the 20th anniversary
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child with the release today of a report
called Aboriginal Childrens Health: Leaving No Child Behind- the Canadian
Supplement to State of the Worlds Children 2009. UNICEF Canada partnered
with the National Collaborating Centre on Aboriginal Health to produce the report,
which examines the health of Aboriginal children in Canada through the perspectives
of national experts and analysis of existing data. The report concludes that health
disparities between First Nations, Inuit and Métis children relative to
national averages is one of the most significant childrens rights challenges
facing our nation.

Source:UNICEF
CanadaSince 1955, UNICEF Canada has grown into a recognized national symbol
for the worlds children and the most visible United Nations presence across
the country. UNICEF Canadas mandate is to raise funds in support of UNICEFs
work for children in more than 150 countries and territories and build awareness
among Canadians about the issues facing the worlds children.

---

Related
link from UNICEF:

The
State of the Worlds Children, 2009:Maternal and Newborn HealthJanuary
2009 "The State of the World's Children 2009 examines critical issues
in maternal and newborn health, underscoring the need to establish a comprehensive
continuum of care for mothers, newborns and children. The report outlines the
latest paradigms in health programming and policies for mothers and newborns,
and explores policies, programmes and partnerships aimed at improving maternal
and neonatal health. Africa and Asia are a key focus for this report, which complements
the previous year's issue on child survival."

Source:United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)UNICEF is on the ground in over 150 countries
and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through
adolescence. The worlds largest provider of vaccines for developing countries,
UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality
basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence,
exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions
of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Related
link:

Aboriginal
children's health below national averages: UNICEFBy Amy Minsky,
Canwest News ServiceThe infant mortality rate across Canadian First Nations
reserves is up to seven times higher than among the general population, according
to a report released Wednesday from UNICEF Canada. And between 2002 and 2006,
the tuberculosis rate among the Inuit was 90 times higher than in the non-Aboriginal
population in Canada, the study said. The report's authors said this disparity
is a symptom of a larger problem  not all Canadian children are treated
equally when it comes to health care.Source:Canada.com

---

Best
Interest of the Child : Meaning and Application in CanadaA
Multi-Disciplinary Conference Faculty of Law, University of TorontoFebruary
27 and 28, 2009Sponsored by the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children;
the Faculty of Law and David Asper Centre for Constitutional Rights, University
of Toronto; UNICEF Canada; and Justice for Children and Youth. Supported by The
Department of Canadian Heritage

The Best Interests
of the Child is one of the basic principles in the Convention on the Rights of
the Child. It has been interpreted and applied in different ways in a variety
of different contexts in Canada. In 2003, the UN Committee on the Rights of the
Child recommended that Canada work toward a common understanding and more consistent
application of the principle, at the level of public policy formation as well
as in decision-making for individual children. The objective of this conference
is to deepen understanding of the principle, share experiences of its application,
and identify good practices for implementation in Canada. The intended outcome
of the initiative is a more common understanding of the principle

*
The
child care transition 1(report) - (PDF - 602K, 40 pages)* The
child care transition (summary) - (PDF - this link was not working on
Dec. 11)* Canada's
status at a glance"(...) Canada invests about 0.2 per cent GDP
in early child care and education (for 0-6 years) according to the OECD Canada
Review (2006). Investing in quality services available to all children who need
them would cost about 1 per cent of GDP."

Opposition
parties respond to UNICEF report card* New Democrat Olivia Chow
to send UNICEF card to Harper to highlight report of Canada missing the mark in
childcare. 11 Dec 08* UN report shows Conservatives failed childcare
strategy: Canada ranks last among OECD countries. Liberal Party of Canada, 11
Dec 08Source:Childcare
Resource and Research Unit (CRRU)CRRU focuses on research and policy resources
in the context of a high quality system of early childhood education and child
care in CanadaNOTE: the links above are from the CRRU website, the UNICEF
Innocenti Research Centre website and the UNICEF CAnada website

Canada
tied for last in UNICEF child care rankingDecember 11 2008Canada
is tied for last place in a UNICEF ranking of the early child-care services offered
by 25 developed countries. Canada failed to meet nine out of 10 of the proposed
benchmarks UNICEF used to rank the countries. The 10 proposed benchmarks included
parental leave of one year at 50 per cent or more of salary, a national plan with
priority for the disadvantaged, and child poverty rates of less than 10 per cent.

Vancouver
Youth Outreach Team (City of Vancouver)The Youth Outreach Team is
made up of youth, hired on as city staff to move forward the Civic Youth Strategy,
the City of Vancouver's 1995 policy commitment to supporting youth and involving
them in decision making. Hiring youth as staff in 2003 was a new step for the
municipality. With youth staffs dedicated to improving youth involvement in the
municipality, the City can now tap into their expertise and connections in the
community to move forward the four goals of the Civic Youth Strategy:-
Ensure that youth have "A PLACE" in the City- Ensure a strong youth
VOICE in decision-making- Promote youth AS A RESOURCE to the City- Strengthen
the SUPPORT BASE for youth in the City

The Youth
Outreach Team is a model of youth engagement for the Civic Youth Strategy. The
primary role of the Team is to increase the meaningful participation of youth
in municipal decision making by:* Providing expertise to City staff around
youth engagement to programs and projects that have a mandate to engage citizens
including youth* Acting as a bridge between City staff, youth (ages 13-24)
and youth organizations* Functioning as "guides" for youth to access
the municipal system* Convening youth and City staff to address issues or
working on projects of mutual interest

Vanier
Institute of the FamilyThe Vanier Institute of the Family, established
in 1965 under the patronage of Their Excellencies Governor-General Georges P.
Vanier and Madame Pauline Vanier, is a national, charitable organization dedicated
to promoting the well-being of Canadian families. It is governed by a volunteer
board with regional representation from across Canada.

Families
Working Shift (PDF - 120K, 2 pages)
Fascinating Families #26 - March 2010
March 15, 2010
Shift work is now an integral part of the Canadian economy. In 2005, 28% of
workers aged 19 to 64 worked a shift schedule.1 One in four fulltime workers
(26%) worked shift, while nearly half of part-time workers (48%) did so.
Men made up 63% of all full-time shift workers, whereas women made up almost
seven in ten (69%) part-time shift workers.
Source:Fascinating Families
<=== links to all 26 issues in the series!
[ Vanier Institute of the Family ]

---

October 27, 2009Two New Studies Released by Vanier Institute:Two studies released today by The Vanier Institute
of the Family say Canadian cities, in many ways, are failing to meet the needs
of their youngest citizens. The reports raise critical questions about the impact
of urban design and development on the health and safety of children and youth.Juan Torres from the Université de Montréal's
Institut d'urbanisme looks at the ways in which urban planning has evolved to
accommodate the needs of the automobile and the negative impact that has on
healthy child development and the evolution of vibrant, user-friendly communities.Belinda Boekhoven of Carleton University adds to the
dialogue by asking important questions about children's access to free playtime
and outdoor space in cities. Her study finds that young people today are much
more likely to be involved in organized activities than in the past. And while
structured participation in activities has been shown to be beneficial for child
development, there are also risks if children and adolescents don't have enough
free time and safe spaces to exercise their imaginations and develop traits
such as self-motivation and self-reliance.These papers make the case that we would all benefit
if children and youth figured more prominently in the urban planning process.

Source:Contemporary Family
Trends PapersContemporary Family Trends is a series of occasional papers authored by
leading Canadian experts in the field of family studies. These papers have been
commissioned by The Vanier Institute of the Family as a contribution to discussion
and as a source for the development of the Institute's perspective on family
issues.Themes:
* Aboriginal Families * Aging families * Cohabitation * Divorce * Emotional
Intelligence * Family and the Environment * Family Finances * Family & Food
* Family Policy * Family Strengths * Family Time * Gambling * Life Transitions
* Media and Family * Parenthood * Same-Sex Couples * Urban Planning * Work and
Family

The Current State of Canadian Family Finances : 2008
ReportJanuary 2009

Already-Stressed
Family Budgets To Take The Brunt Of Recession
(PDF - 21K, 2 pages)News ReleaseOTTAWA, January 22, 2009A Vanier Institute
of the Family study released today predicts the effects of the current economic
downturn will be felt around the kitchen table for years to come. In the 10th
edition of its seminal study The Current State of Family Finances  2008
Report, the Institute puts the current situation into context and finds that it
has taken Canadian families a long time to recover from past recessions.

Highlights
(PDF - 23K, 1 page)- Recessions are very hard on families.- Debt loads
are in the danger zone. - Spending and debt rise much faster than incomes.-
The wealth that went up has now come down.- Unattached individuals aged 18-64
are the forgotten poor.- Family Finances report celebrates its 10th
anniversary

Giving
credit where earnings are due (PDF - 38K, 1
page)PDF file dated February 12, 2009In a recent study, Statistics Canada1
reported that the median earnings of individuals employed full-time full-year
in 2005 was $41,401. In other words, one-half of fulltime earners made more than
this amount, and one-half made less. When the agency compared the 2005 fi gure
with the median earnings 15 years earlier, in 1990, they found (that after adjusting
for increases in the cost of living) median earnings were only about $600 or 1.5%
higher. Fifteen years, 1.5%.Source:Fascinating
FamiliesFascinating Families is a web feature that builds on VIFs
expertise in monitoring family trends and in making complex statistics accessible
and understandable to a wide audience. Published on the 15th of each month, Fascinating
Families highlights timely, family-related facts and uses a family lens
to frame a brief discussion of the implications for families in Canada.

NOTE:
this is the 15th issue in the Fascinating Families series; earlier issues covered
such diverse topics as work-family balance, fertility intentions, adoptions, grandparent
care, the importance of fathers, and more...Click the Fascinating Families
link above to access the whole list.

---

Already-Stressed
Family Budgets To Take The Brunt Of Recession
(PDF - 21K, 2 pages)News ReleaseOTTAWA, January 22, 2009A Vanier Institute
of the Family study released today predicts the effects of the current economic
downturn will be felt around the kitchen table for years to come. In the 10th
edition of its seminal study The Current State of Family Finances  2008
Report, the Institute puts the current situation into context and finds that it
has taken Canadian families a long time to recover from past recessions.

Highlights
(PDF - 23K, 1 page)- Recessions are very hard on families.- Debt loads
are in the danger zone. - Spending and debt rise much faster than incomes.-
The wealth that went up has now come down.- Unattached individuals aged 18-64
are the forgotten poor.- Family Finances report celebrates its 10th
anniversary

Work/Family Balance: What do we Really Know? (PDF - 272K, 29 pages)By
Jacques Barrette, Ph.D. January 15, 2009The last two decades has seen
a proliferation of research on the nature, scope and, implications of work/family
conflict. This paper reviews much of this research and endeavours to (1) explain
the fundamental causes of the work/family conflict, (2) demonstrate the impacts
of this imbalance on families and organizations, (3) discuss the challenges families
face, and (4) present possible strategies to improve the situation.

---

Family
Life and Work Life: An Uneasy Balance (PDF - 272K, 29 pages)By
Roger Sauvé January 15, 2009Families are changing and so are the
organizations for which they work. Families need and want the work that employers
provide and employers need the workers to produce goods and services for sale
and distribution. It is a two-way street. This report highlights the dynamic relationship
between these two entities and examines whether or not Canadians are achieving
an acceptable balance between family life and work life. The result seems to be
an uneasy balance.

---

Fascinating Families (PDF - 83K, 1 page)January 15, 2009This
issue of Fascinating Families is based on the above report, Family Life and
Work Life: An Uneasy Balance

Earlier
issues of Fascinating Families <=== links to 13 issues back to October
2007 Fascinating Families is a web feature that builds on VIFs expertise
in monitoring family trends and in making complex statistics accessible and understandable
to a wide audience. Published on the 15th of each month, Fascinating Families
highlights timely, family-related facts and uses a family lens to
frame a brief discussion of the implications for families in Canada.

Source:Vanier
Institute of the FamilyThe Vanier Institute of the Family, established
in 1965 under the patronage of Their Excellencies Governor-General Georges P.
Vanier and Madame Pauline Vanier, is a national, charitable organization dedicated
to promoting the well-being of Canadian families. It is governed by a volunteer
board with regional representation from across Canada.

----------------------------------------------------

Work/Family Balance: What do we Really Know? (PDF - 272K, 29 pages)By
Jacques Barrette, Ph.D. January 15, 2009The last two decades has seen
a proliferation of research on the nature, scope and, implications of work/family
confl ict. This paper reviews much of this research and endeavours to (1) explain
the fundamental causes of the work/family confl ict, (2) demonstrate the impacts
of this imbalance on families and organizations, (3) discuss the challenges families
face, and (4) present possible strategies to improve the situation.

----------------------------------------------------

Family
Life and Work Life: An Uneasy Balance (PDF - 272K, 29 pages)By
Roger Sauvé January 15, 2009Families are changing and so are the
organizations for which theywork. Families need and want thework that employers
provide and employers need theworkers to produce goods and services for sale and
distribution. It is a two-way street. This report highlights the dynamic relationship
between these two entities and examines whether or not Canadians are achieving
an acceptable balance between family life and work life. The result seems to be
an uneasy balance.

----------------------------------------------------

Fascinating Families (PDF - 83K, 1 page)January 15, 2009This
issue of Fascinating Families is based on the above report, Family Life and
Work Life: An Uneasy Balance

Earlier
issues of Fascinating Families <=== links to 13 issues back to October
2007 Fascinating Families is a web feature that builds on VIFs expertise
in monitoring family trends and in making complex statistics accessible and understandable
to a wide audience. Published on the 15th of each month, Fascinating Families
highlights timely, family-related facts and uses a family lens to
frame a brief discussion of the implications for families in Canada.

Hallmarks
of a Compassionate, Civil SocietyPress ReleaseMarch 27, 2007OttawaLove,
sympathy, reason and morality  all evolutionary imperatives according to
Darwin  are the hallmarks of a compassionate, civil society. Sadly, our
collective reading of Darwins theories of human development emphasizes an
almost universally accepted notion of human nature as predominantly aggressive,
violent, selfish and competitive.

Over
a Million Canadian Households are Millionaires But Probably Not YoursFebruary
7, 2007News Release Ottawa You may wonder
how Canadas families are faring these days. Not surprisingly, the answer
depends on which families you have in mind. Those at the top seem to be doing
very, very well. In fact, most of the income and wealth gains recorded over the
last fifteen years have gone into their pockets, savings accounts and investment
portfolios. But the rest of us  almost 10 million
households  have struggled to keep up. With the average hourly earnings
of all employees up by only 25 cents in real terms since 1991 (a paltry two dollars
a day), many families are struggling just to make ends meet. More are working
and the second earner, in couples with children, has never provided more income
support than they do currently. And they are doing so based on need, not greed.

Complete
report:

The Current State of Canadian Family
Finances - 2006 ReportHTML
versionPDF version
(329K, 33 pages)- incl. Social Impacts of Financial Stress - I Really Did
Give at the Office - Second Earners Coming Through in Record Way - Not Getting
There - Growing Inequality - Ka-Ching! Debt Keeps Climbing - Mostly Need and not
Greed - and much more...

Canada's
One-Parent FamiliesCauses, Consequences, and RemediesPress
Release March 4, 2006"Ottawa In 2001, over 16% of all families
with dependent children were classified as one-parent families (OPFs), whether
as a result of marriage breakdown, widowhood, or nonconjugal birth/adoption. Roughly
90% of OPFs are female-led. In a new paper released today by the Vanier Institute
of the Family for its Contemporary Family Trends series, author Anne-Marie Ambert
shines a spotlight on this population to examine the circumstances and prospects
of OPFs and their members in some detail. Her well-supported arguments 
particularly those presenting the effects of some forms of OPF on children 
serve as a strong critique of our society."

Canadian
Family Finances: Debt Load Up,Taxes Down, Incomes Flat, Savings NilNews
ReleaseJanuary 27, 2005"Ottawa—Meet the Johnson family. Both parents
work outside the home to support two young children. For at least four years,
in real terms, their household income has stagnated. Only because they have enjoyed
income tax reductions in recent years have they not suffered an income loss. Although
they are buying their home and one spouse has a pension plan, they have no money
set aside for emergencies. They have many expenses and are indebted to the tune
of 120% of their total disposable income. They can sustain this high debt load
because of record low interest rates, but will be in trouble when interest rates
rise. According to the Vanier Institute of the Family's report, The Current State
of Canadian Family Finances, the Johnsons are typical of the average Canadian
household, of which two thirds are families. Incomes are flat. Fewer Canadian
families are saving and on average have more debt than their annual net incomes.
. The rate of bankruptcies is at a near-record high, and the rate for the Atlantic
Provinces has increased five- to 10-fold since 1980."

Taking
the Pulse of Canada's FamiliesPress Release December 6, 2004"OTTAWAHow
do Canadians young and old feel about family life today? How do they feel about
marriage and divorce? How many want to be part of a "traditional" family-meaning
a married woman and man with children-and how many aspire to a different household
arrangement? How will these feelings and desires shape Canadian society in the
future? (...) Almost 2,100 Canadians aged 18 and over participated in The Future
Families Project: A Survey of Canadian Hopes and Dreams in 2003."

Complete
report:

The Future Families ProjectA Survey
of Canadian Hopes and Dreamsby Reginald Bibby (2004)PDF
version (908K, 18 pages)HTML
version- table of contents with links to the individual sections of
the report : Introduction - Background - Survey - The Nature of the Family - Dating,
Sexuality and Cohabitation - Marriage - Children, Hopes and Values - Parenting
and Parents - When Relationships End - Responding to Family Hopes and Dreams -
What Does It All Mean? - Conclusion

Profiling
Canada's Families III - $November
29, 2004"Whether you're wondering how satisfied Canadians are with their
lives, what percentage of legally married Canadians can expect to divorce before
their thirtieth wedding anniversary, how many families have no religious affiliation,
which province has the highest foreign-born population, or who earns the most
money, you'll find the answer in Profiling Canada's Families III"

Family
Resources- includes link collections on the following themes
: *Adoption Resources * Child Care Resources * Disability Resources * Family
Resources on or about the Net * Resources for and about Fathers * Resources for
Lone Parents and Families in Transition * Resources on Death and Dying * Resources
on Emotional Intelligence and Related Subjects

Growing
Up Slowly: The Impact on SocietyPress ReleaseMay
10, 2004"OTTAWACanadians have staged a revolution in life-course
patterns over the past 40 years. All the major life transitions of the younger
years are happening later; not only are today's Canadians taking longer to finish
school and start working full-time, but they're also leaving home later, and waiting
longer to get married and to become parents. This revolution in the timing of
early life transitions has implications for every stage of life, according to
a new report released by the Vanier Institute of the Family."

Complete
report:

Delayed Life Transitions: Trends and
Implications"The revolution in life course patterns of the past
40 years has seen later home leaving, later completion of education, later union
formation, and later childbearing. This is in marked contrast with patterns into
the 1960s that saw earlier home leaving, earlier marriages and earlier ages at
childbearing. While the trends are well known, less has been written on the implications
of these trends. In order to discuss these implications, it is first necessary
to clarify the trends, and to suggest theoretical interpretations. We will then
consider the implications for the various phases of the life course, and for the
society as a whole"HTML
versionPDF
version (228K, 48 pages)

The Current
State of Canadian Family Finances - 2003 Reportby Roger Sauvé
(People Patterns Consulting)(February
2004)Press
ReleaseFebruary 17, 2004"OttawaA record number of
families are "Living on the Edge"A growing number of Canadian families
and households are now "living on the edge."The "edge"
has gotten closer over the five years that the Vanier Institute of the Family
has been releasing this report on family finances. The pressure points are clear
and are getting worse.* Hourly earnings are shrinking. * Massive "over-spending"
continues. * A record number of family members, especially those with children
are now employed. Canadian families are increasingly becoming "workaholics"
in order to make ends meet. * Even so, the personal savings rate has now fallen
to an all-time low. * Debt has now risen to an all-time high. * And bankruptcies
remain at near-record highs. * Over the last few years, only the wealthiest
twenty percent of families have seen their share of the total income pie increase.

More
families on the edgeEric Beauchesne CanWest News ServiceFebruary
17, 2004"OTTAWA -- A growing number of Canadian families are "living
on the edge" financially and will be pushed over when interest rates eventually
rise, the Vanier Institute of the Family warned Monday."Source:Victoria
Times Colonist

Sparrow
Lake Alliance"The Sparrow Lake Alliance, founded in 1989 [by
the late Dr. Paul Steinhauer], is a voluntary coalition of professionals
from all Ontario sectors that work with children, including educators, social
workers, lawyers, physicians, and many others. The Sparrow Lake Alliance fosters
a vision of inter-sectoral collaboration and integration to produce better outcomes
for Ontarios children."NOTE for the uninitiated: this site is not
about Sparrow Lake, as you might think. It's about better outcomes for Ontario's
children, but its content will be of interest to anyone working in the field of
family and children's services.Site
Map - this is a huge site; I recommend using the site map to get
an overview of the rich content you'll find here...- incl. links to : | What's
New | Events | Forum | Alliance | Task Forces | Publications | Links | Site Map
| Contact Us | Help + much moreHere's just some of the information you can
find here: Current Issues (Ontario's "Clawback" of the National Child
Benefit Supplement - The Youth Criminal Justice Act - Social Inclusion) -
The Sparrow Lake Alliance Task Forces - Alliance Resources - Conferences of Interest
Conferences of Interest - Archived Conference Proceedings - Key People - Open
Discussions - Forum - Donation Form - History of Sparrow Lake Alliance - Tribute
Dr. Paul Steinhauer - Children in Limbo Task Force - Education Task Force - Children,
Youth & the Law Task Force - Major Papers - Task Force Reports - Address and
Contacts - much more

First
Call: BC Child and Youth Advocacy"The First Call: BC Child
& Youth Advocacy Coalition is a cross-sectoral, non-partisan coalition in
BC. Our coalition is made up of over 60 provincial organizations and 25 mobilizing
communities. In addition, we have a network of thousands of community groups and
individuals. Our partners work together on public education, community mobilization,
and policy advocacy to ensure that all children and youth have the opportunities
and resources required to achieve their full potential and to participate in the
challenges of creating a better society."

Media Awareness Network - Réseau
éducation-médiaThe Media
Awareness Network offers practical support for media education in the home, school
and community and provides Canadians and others with information and "food for
thought" on our fast-evolving media culture. It's also a place where educators,
parents, students and community workers can share resources and explore ways to
make media a more positive force in children's lives.

Ontario
Coalition for Better Child Care The Ontario Coalition for Better
Child Care was founded in 1981 with a mandate to advocate for the development
of high quality, non-profit child care services in the province of Ontario. The
organization includes representatives from: education, health care, labour, child-welfare,
injury prevention, rural, First Nation, Francophone, social policy, anti poverty,
professional, student and women’s organizations. In addition, we serve community
based child care programs and 15 local coalitions across the province.

Woman
Power & Politicsby Kira Heinek 2003"The Ontario
and Toronto Coalitions for Better Child Care announce the publication of their
new joint book, Woman Power & Politics. This guide for women on identifying
and maximizing power in todays political systems looks through the lens
of child care as it influences womens lives. Woman Power & Politics
invites women to participate in politics, take opportunities and determine their
future regarding areas such as education, poverty and domestic violence."Complete
Book (PDF file - 211K, 40 pages)News
Release - October 13, 2003

GRAVE
: Groupe de recherche et d'action sur la victimisation des enfants(Site available only in French) GRAVE is a social research and action
group based in Montreal focusing on the prevention of child victimization.
It is a cooperative effort of contributors from l'Université du Québec
à Montréal, l'Université de Montréal, le Centre Jeunesse
Montréal and le Département de santé publique Montréal-Centre.
Check the site for more information - publications, research activities, monthly
newsletter - en français. This group is particularly interested in the
study of child negligence, isolation, reject, intimidation and physical violence
against children.

Unit
for Child Care Research and Professional Development School of Child
and Youth Care The Unit for Child Care Research and Professional Development
provides services and resources to organizations, agencies, individuals, communities,
and governments in the areas of early childhood care and education and the delivery
of services to children and families

Voices
for Children"Voices for Children is a not-for-profit leadership
organization promoting healthy lives for children and their families. In the tradition
of late founder Dr. Paul Steinhauer, we are a growing network of academics, citizens,
parents, and practitioners who share a vision of children thriving and participating
in society."

Enabling Families
to Succeed: Community-Based Supports for FamiliesBy
Susan Pigott, C.E.O. and Lidia Monaco, Director of Children, Youth and Family
ServicesSt. Christopher House, TorontoPresented at Making Children Matter
ConferenceOctober 2004"How can we improve childrens lives?
Susan Pigott and Lidia Monaco from St. Christopher House in Toronto argue society
must first recognize that children are a part of families. Therefore, to improve
the lives of children, our policies and actions must consistently work to enable
families to succeed. Pigott and Monaco report on the conditions which disable
far too many families and outline four prerequisites for family success."Complete
Text:HTML
versionPDF
version (39K, 5 pages)Source:Voices
for Children["Voices for Children promotes the well-being of children
and youth in Ontario by disseminating information to influence policy, practice
and awareness."]Voices
for Children Report Index - links to two dozen reports from 2002 to 2004

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